Vincan Elizabeth, Whitehead Robert H, Faux Maree C
Cancer Biology Laboratory, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Methods Mol Biol. 2008;468:263-73. doi: 10.1007/978-1-59745-249-6_21.
Cells in tissues do not exist as isolated entities but are part of the three-dimensional tissue architecture. Consequently, some aspects of cell behaviour cannot be mimicked by simple in vitro monolayer culture systems. Moreover, cell shape and behaviour is not rigid but is dynamic and can be regulated by intrinsic and extrinsic factors. For example, tumour cells in epithelium-derived cancer such as colorectal cancer often retain significant features of the colonic mucosa. However, as the tumour progresses, the morphology of the tumour cells often undergoes a transition from an epithelial morphology to a mesenchymal morphology. This transition is important as it signifies a change in the tumour phenotype to a more aggressive, invasive, and eventually metastatic phenotype. In vitro models that allow the study of this transition are needed. One such model is the LIM1863 colon carcinoma cells that normally grow as organoids but can be adapted to efficiently undergo an epithelial to mesenchymal transition that can be reversed. This system has allowed the study of the genes such as Frizzled 7 that are involved in this dynamic and reversible epithelial to mesenchymal transition.
组织中的细胞并非孤立存在，而是三维组织结构的一部分。因此，简单的体外单层培养系统无法模拟细胞行为的某些方面。此外，细胞形状和行为并非固定不变，而是动态的，可受内在和外在因素调节。例如，上皮来源癌症（如结直肠癌）中的肿瘤细胞通常保留结肠黏膜的显著特征。然而，随着肿瘤进展，肿瘤细胞形态通常会从上皮形态转变为间充质形态。这种转变很重要，因为它标志着肿瘤表型转变为更具侵袭性、浸润性且最终会转移的表型。需要能够研究这种转变的体外模型。一种这样的模型是LIM1863结肠癌细胞，其通常以类器官形式生长，但可被改造以高效地经历上皮-间充质转化，且这种转化是可逆的。该系统使得对诸如卷曲蛋白7等参与这种动态且可逆的上皮-间充质转化的基因进行研究成为可能。
