Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Trieste, Trieste, Italy.
PLoS One. 2010 Nov 30;5(11):e13942. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0013942.
Multicellular tumor spheroids are an important in vitro model of the pre-vascular phase of solid tumors, for sizes well below the diagnostic limit: therefore a biophysical model of spheroids has the ability to shed light on the internal workings and organization of tumors at a critical phase of their development. To this end, we have developed a computer program that integrates the behavior of individual cells and their interactions with other cells and the surrounding environment. It is based on a quantitative description of metabolism, growth, proliferation and death of single tumor cells, and on equations that model biochemical and mechanical cell-cell and cell-environment interactions. The program reproduces existing experimental data on spheroids, and yields unique views of their microenvironment. Simulations show complex internal flows and motions of nutrients, metabolites and cells, that are otherwise unobservable with current experimental techniques, and give novel clues on tumor development and strong hints for future therapies.
多细胞肿瘤球体是实体瘤血管前期的重要体外模型，其大小远低于诊断极限：因此，球体的生物物理模型能够揭示肿瘤在其发展的关键阶段的内部运作和组织。为此，我们开发了一个计算机程序，该程序整合了单个细胞的行为及其与其他细胞和周围环境的相互作用。它基于对单个肿瘤细胞的代谢、生长、增殖和死亡的定量描述，以及对模型化生化和机械细胞-细胞和细胞-环境相互作用的方程。该程序再现了关于球体的现有实验数据，并提供了其微环境的独特视角。模拟显示了营养物质、代谢物和细胞的复杂内部流动和运动，这些运动是目前实验技术无法观察到的，为肿瘤发展提供了新的线索，并为未来的治疗提供了强有力的暗示。
