Stem Cell and Microenvironment Laboratory, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Qatar Foundation, Education City, Doha 24144, Qatar.
Department of Genetic Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA.
Int J Mol Sci. 2018 Jan 18;19(1):181. doi: 10.3390/ijms19010181.
An area that has come to be of tremendous interest in tumor research in the last decade is the role of the microenvironment in the biology of neoplastic diseases. The tumor microenvironment (TME) comprises various cells that are collectively important for normal tissue homeostasis as well as tumor progression or regression. Seminal studies have demonstrated the role of the dialogue between cancer cells (at many sites) and the cellular component of the microenvironment in tumor progression, metastasis, and resistance to treatment. Using an appropriate system of microenvironment and tumor culture is the first step towards a better understanding of the complex interaction between cancer cells and their surroundings. Three-dimensional (3D) models have been widely described recently. However, while it is claimed that they can bridge the gap between in vitro and in vivo, it is sometimes hard to decipher their advantage or limitation compared to classical two-dimensional (2D) cultures, especially given the broad number of techniques used. We present here a comprehensive review of the different 3D methods developed recently, and, secondly, we discuss the pros and cons of 3D culture compared to 2D when studying interactions between cancer cells and their microenvironment.
在过去十年的肿瘤研究中，一个备受关注的领域是微环境在肿瘤疾病生物学中的作用。肿瘤微环境（TME）由各种细胞组成，这些细胞对于正常组织稳态以及肿瘤的进展或消退都非常重要。开创性的研究已经证明了癌细胞（在许多部位）与微环境的细胞成分之间的对话在肿瘤进展、转移和治疗耐药性方面的作用。使用适当的微环境和肿瘤培养系统是更好地理解癌细胞与其周围环境之间复杂相互作用的第一步。三维（3D）模型最近得到了广泛的描述。然而，虽然据称它们可以弥合体外和体内之间的差距，但与经典的二维（2D）培养相比，有时很难解释它们的优势或局限性，特别是考虑到广泛使用的技术数量。我们在这里全面回顾了最近开发的不同 3D 方法，其次，我们讨论了在研究癌细胞与其微环境之间相互作用时，3D 培养相对于 2D 的优缺点。
