Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41463290›Full record

ArticleBiomolecules2025

Biomimetic Salivary Gland Cancer Spheroid Platform for In Vitro Recapitulation of Three-Dimensional Tumor-Stromal Interactions.

Lele Wang, Seokjun Kwon, Sujin Park, Eun Namkoong, Junchul Kim, Hye-Young Sim, Shazid Md Sharker, Sang-Woo Lee

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Biomolecules, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Lele WangDepartment of Oral Physiology, School of Dentistry and Dental Research Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea.ORCID 0009-0004-7351-9003
Seokjun KwonDepartment of Oral Physiology, School of Dentistry and Dental Research Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea.
Sujin ParkDepartment of Oral Physiology, School of Dentistry and Dental Research Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea.
Eun NamkoongDepartment of Oral Physiology, School of Dentistry and Dental Research Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea.
Junchul KimDepartment of Oral Physiology, School of Dentistry and Dental Research Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea.
Hye-Young SimDepartment of Dentistry, School of Dentistry and Dental Research Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea.ORCID 0000-0002-3338-4245
Shazid Md SharkerDepartment of Pharmaceutical Sciences, North South University, Dhaka 1229, Bangladesh.ORCID 0000-0001-9122-3602
Sang-Woo LeeDepartment of Oral Physiology, School of Dentistry and Dental Research Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea.ORCID 0000-0003-3950-6722

Funding

National Research Foundation of Korea NRF-2022R1I1A2068786National Research Foundation of Korea RS-2024-00460585Seoul National University 860-20220054
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Salivary gland carcinomas (SGCs) are aggressive malignancies with limited treatment options, primarily due to the complexity of the tumor microenvironment (TME). Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) remodel the extracellular matrix (ECM), enhance cancer cell stemness, and drive drug resistance. This study introduces a decellularized CAF-derived spheroid system as a biomimetic platform to study tumor-stromal interactions in SGC. Multicellular spheroids were generated by co-culturing Medical Research Council cell strain 5 (MRC-5) fibroblasts (fetal lung-derived) with A253 salivary gland cancer cells, producing distinct spatial architecture, with fibroblasts at the core and cancer cells at the periphery. Compared with A253-only spheroids, A253/MRC-5 spheroids exhibited enhanced proliferation and elevated expression of stemness markers (aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 [ALDH1], CD133, cytokeratin 19 [CK19]). MRC-5 spheroids displayed robust ECM and growth factor expression that persisted after decellularization. Decellularized spheroids retained biological activity, enabling A253 cells to develop invasive phenotypes, metabolic reprogramming, and stemness-associated signatures. Transcriptomic analysis revealed a transition from proliferative pathways to stress-adaptive survival programs, mirroring in vivo tumor behavior. Moreover, A253 cells cultured with decellularized fibroblast spheroids exhibited altered cisplatin sensitivity, highlighting the critical role of stromal ECM in therapeutic response. In conclusion, this study establishes decellularized CAF spheroids as a simplified yet biologically relevant TME-mimetic platform. By recapitulating tumor-stromal crosstalk without live co-culture, this system provides a powerful tool for mechanistic studies of salivary gland cancer, preclinical drug screening, and development of stroma-targeted therapies.

Indexed as

Salivary Gland NeoplasmsSpheroids, CellularBiomimeticsCancer-Associated FibroblastsCell Line, TumorCell ProliferationCoculture TechniquesExtracellular MatrixHumansNeoplastic Stem CellsTumor Microenvironmentcancer-associated fibroblastsdecellularized spheroiddrug screeningsalivary gland cancertumor microenvironment

Identifiers

PMID41463290
PMCPMC12731055

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.