Cover. Analysis of tumoral spheres growing in a multichamber microfluidic device

DENISE BELGOROSKY; TAMARA FERNÁNDEZ;CABADA; ANA BELÉN PEÑAHERRERA;PAZMIÑO; YANINA LANGLE; SHEKHAR BHANSALI; MAXIMILIANO S. PÉREZ; ANA MARÍA EIJÁN; BETIANA LERNER

JOURNAL OF CELLULAR PHYSIOLOGY

WILEY-LISS, DIV JOHN WILEY & SONS INC

Lugar: New York; Año: 2018

0021-9541

Labona Chip (LOC) farming systemshaveemergedas apowerful tool for single cell studiescombined with a non-adherent cell culture substrate and single cell capture chips for thestudy of single cell derived tumor spheres. Cancer is characterized by its cellularheterogeneity where only a small population of cancer stem cells (CSCs) are responsiblefor tumor metastases and recurrences. Thus, the in vitro strategy to the formation of asingle cell-derived sphere is an attractive alternative to identifyCSCs. In this study, wetestthe effectiveness of microdevices for analysis of heterogeneity within CSC populationsand its interaction with different components of the extracellular matrix. CSC could beidentify using specificmarkers related to its pluripotency and self-renewal characteristicssuch as the transcription factor Oct-4 or the surface protein CD44. The results confirmtheusefulnessofLOCas aneffectivemethodfor quantification of CSC, throughthe formationof spheres under conditions of low adhesion or growing on components of theextracellularmatrix. The device used is also a good alternative for evaluating the individualgrowth of each sphere and further identification of these CSC markers by immunofluorescence.In conclusion, LOC devices have not only the already known advantages, butthey are also a promising tool since they use small amounts of reagents and are underspecific culture parameters. LOC devices could be considered as a novel technology to beused as a complement or replacement of traditional studies on culture plates.