Summary
Published in Cancers (2023), this peer-reviewed study used 3D Petri Dish® micro-molds to form scaffold-free 3D microtissues. Full citation: Schäfer, Paula, et al. Ex Vivo Model of Neuroblastoma Plasticity
Ex Vivo Model of Neuroblastoma Plasticity
Research Overview
Tumor plasticity lets cancer adapt as it metastasizes. This study compared LAN-1 neuroblastoma cells recovered from a subcutaneous xenograft primary tumor against three successive generations of bone metastasis, looking at morphology, biochemistry, growth behavior, and responses to chemotherapy and immune cells.
The workup included F-actin staining, mRNA and protein expression, lactate secretion, adhesion to collagen I, spheroid growth with and without vincristine, and IL-6 production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells co-incubated with each tumor generation — mapping how neuroblastoma changes across the metastatic cascade.
Key Discoveries
- Primary tumor compared against three successive generations of bone metastasis
- Spheroid growth assessed with and without the chemotherapeutic vincristine
- Immune interaction measured via IL-6 production by co-incubated PBMCs
