Cancer on a chip
Scientists from Japan have created a "tumor on a chip" to revolutionize cancer drug testing
Maria Azarova, Naked Science
A team of scientists from Kyoto University (Japan) has developed a new technology – "tumor on a chip". With this device, it will be possible to cultivate cancer cells in vitro and simulate conditions that are characteristic of the human body. Thus, according to the authors of the study published in the journal Biomaterials (Nashimoto et al., Vascularized cancer on a chip: The effect of perfusion on growth and drug delivery of tumor spheroid), it will be possible to recreate the three-dimensional structure of the cell and test potential anti-cancer drugs with greater accuracy. In addition, the method promises to greatly simplify this process.
"Potential compounds are being tested using animal models and cells cultured in a Petri dish. However, these results often do not reflect the biological characteristics of the human body," explains Yuji Nashimoto, one of the authors of the work. – In addition, the cells grown in the cup lack a three-dimensional structure and the blood vessels or vascular network that support its vital activity. We figured out how to create a device that solves these problems."
The revolutionary device is comparable in size to an ordinary coin, but has a "hole" with a diameter of one millimeter in the center, from which many microchannels with a size of no more than 100 nanometers depart. The bottom line is that the tumor cells are placed in the central well, and the cells that line the blood vessels are located along the channels. Within a few days, the vessels are nourished, they grow, develop and consolidate.
An organoid of a tumor with a vascular network (figure from an article in Biomaterials).
"Such a perfused (blood–permeable - ed.) vascular network allows you to inject nutrients and medications and simulate the microenvironment of the body. This helps us get a clearer picture of compounds for cancer treatment," adds Nashimoto.
Experiments have demonstrated the importance of the role of blood flow in the vascular network: the tested antitumor drug in small doses turned out to be more effective under static conditions, and when it entered the bloodstream, into which nutrients were supplied through microchannels, its effectiveness decreased.
"We assume that at low doses, the benefits of the nutrient supply outweigh the effects of the antitumor drug. <...> We hope that the new device, thanks to its size and effectiveness, will help speed up the testing of countless new promising drugs. Although many questions remain, we have shown that three–dimensional cell culture perfusion is vital for the next step in drug discovery," said Ryuji Yokokawa, head of the study.
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