| 초록 |
We developed a functional polymer thin film (PTF) platform that promotes conversion of cancer cells to highly tumorigenic three-dimensional (3D) spheroids without the use of biochemical or genetic manipulations. Culturing various human cancer cells on the specific PTF, poly(2,4,6,8-tetravinyl-2,4,6,8-tetramethyl cyclotetrasiloxane) (pV4D4), gave rise to numerous multicellular tumor spheroids within 24 hours, with high efficiency and reproducibility. Cancer cells in the resulting spheroids showed an enormous increase in the expression of CSC-associated genes and acquired dramatically increased drug resistance compared with 2D monolayer-cultured controls. These spheroids also showed greatly enhanced xenograft tumor-forming ability and metastasis capacity in nude mice. By enabling the generation of tumorigenic spheroids from diverse cancer cells, the surface platform described here will likely contribute to CSC-related basic research and drug development. |
