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Self-assembled peptide habitats to model tumor metastasis

Version 2 2024-06-06, 06:18
Version 1 2022-10-27, 23:44
journal contribution
posted on 2024-06-06, 06:18 authored by Noora Al Balushi, Mitchell Boyd-Moss, Rasika SamarasingheRasika Samarasinghe, Aaqil Rifai, Stephanie J Franks, Kate Firipis, Benjamin M Long, Ian A Darby, David R Nisbet, Dodie Pouniotis, Richard WilliamsRichard Williams
Metastatic tumours are complex ecosystems; a community of multiple cell types, including cancerous cells, fibroblasts, and immune cells that exist within a supportive and specific microenvironment. The interplay of these cells, together with tissue specific chemical, structural and temporal signals within a three-dimensional (3D) habitat, direct tumour cell behavior, a subtlety that can be easily lost in 2D tissue culture. Here, we investigate a significantly improved tool, consisting of a novel matrix of functionally programmed peptide sequences, self-assembled into a scaffold to enable the growth and the migration of multicellular lung tumour spheroids, as proof-of-concept. This 3D functional model aims to mimic the biological, chemical, and contextual cues of an in vivo tumor more closely than a typically used, unstructured hydrogel, allowing spatial and temporal activity modelling. This approach shows promise as a cancer model, enhancing current understandings of how tumours progress and spread over time within their microenvironment.

History

Journal

Gels

Volume

8

Pagination

1-16

Location

Basel, Switzerland

eISSN

2310-2861

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Issue

6

Publisher

MDPI AG

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