A 3D-printed model of a cancerous tumour created by researchers from the US and China could
give researchers a new way of conducting medical studies.
Using a special 3D cell printer developed by the research team,
the tumour model is created from a scaffold of fibrous proteins
coated in cervical cancer cells and provides a realistic
representation of a tumour's environment. The scaffold is about
10mm wide and contains the proteins that make up the matrix
surrounding the tumour: gelatin, alginate and fibrin. Cervical
cancer cells, known as Hela cells, have been chosen for the
research due to their ability to divide indefinitely in lab
conditions. Researchers hope the cells will help them better
understand how tumours develop, grow and spread throughout the
2D models that consist of a single layer of cells already exist
and have been used in studies, but researchers have been restricted
with regards to what they can achieve with them. While these models
mimic the physiological environment of a tumour, they don't provide
a realistic representation of one.
"2D cell culture models are traditionally used for biology study
and drug screening," explains Professor Wei Sun from Tsinghua
University, China, who developed the 3D tumour. "However, 2D
culture models can not represent true 3D physiological tissues, so
it lacks the microenvironment characteristics of natural 3D tissues
in vivo. This inherent inadequacy leads to some constant failures
in cancer study as well as anti-tumour drug development."
In a study published today in the journal Biofabrication
the researchers who created the cells have compared the
effectiveness of the new 3D models to that of the existing 2D
models for use in further cancer studies. They tested the cells in
each model to see if they remained alive after printing, how they
proliferated and how resistant they were to anti-cancer drugs. In
another test they also examined the cells to see how they expressed
a specific set of proteins -- one that allow the cells to break out
of their surrounding matrix and spread, which is what causes tumour
Following the printing process, about 90 percent of the
3D-printed cells remained alive -- a good sign according to Sun --
and the proliferation rate was much higher in the 3D-printed model
than in the 2D model. They also had a higher higher protein
expression and a higher resistance to drugs.
This is the first time biologists have reported to being able to
construct an in vitro tumour using a 3D printer and Sun hopes it
will open up new paradigms for cancer research and treatment
therapy. In order to establish whether the in vitro model will
definitely be a sutiable research tool, Sun is now inviting
biologists and pathologists to apply the technological platform he
and his team have developed to their studies.
"In particular, we will try to understand the cell-cell and
cell/substrate communication and immune-responses for the printed
in vitro tumour-like models," he explains. The idea is to make it
closer to a real tumour "in terms of the development, invasion and
metastasis of cancer" in order to be able to "test the efficacy and
safety of new cancer therapies to individual cancer patients".
Commenting on the development, Dr Samuel Godfrey, Cancer
Research UK's science information manager told Wired.co.uk: "Using
3D printers to build living models of tumours in a lab is a
fascinating technique that could give scientists a new way of
making their experiments more realistic.
"Cells naturally grow in three dimensions so these artificial
tumours could mimic what happens in the body more closely, boosting
our understanding of cancer and opening up a new way of testing new
treatments. But there is a still long way to go before they can
come close to the complexity of a human or animal tumour."