Microfluidic Biofabrication of a Hydrogel Vessel‐Like Structure for Interrogating Tumor Cell Propagation in a Breast Cancer‐on‐a‐Chip Model
Makaleler > Tam Makale · 2026
Yazarlar: Alessia Paradiso, Pelin Saglam‐Metiner, Ewa Walejewska, Marina Volpi, Basar Dogan, Yagmur Filiz, Ipek Sarier, Diana C. Martinez, Reyhan Coban, Leila Sabour‐Takanlou, Çığır BİRAY AVCI, Özlem YEŞİL ÇELİKTAŞ, Wojciech Swieszkowski
Advanced Healthcare Materials, Uluslararası, Wos, 2026, cilt 15, ss e05937-e05937
Özet
Engineering physiologically relevant vascular models remains a challenge in cancer biology and tissue engineering. Here, we present a microfluidic wet-spinning methodology for the biofabrication of cell-laden alginate-gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogel-based vessel-like structures with controlled geometry and perfusable architecture. Using a sacrificial gelatin core within a core-shell microfluidic device, tubular scaffolds were produced in a single continuous step under mild, cell-compatible conditions. The alginate-GelMA shell is fine-tuned and loaded with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), yielding an endothelialized-like, perfusable construct at the small-vein scale (∼0.6-0.7 mm lumen diameter). As a proof-of-concept use case, the biofabricated vessel-like structure was integrated into the breast cancer-on-a-chip (BCoC) platform to showcase its feasibility in a 3D vascularized-like tumor model for interrogating cancer cell propagation. Breast cancer spheroids were positioned in the surrounding GelMA matrix (perivascular-like compartment), and THP-1 monocytes were circulated through the perfusion platform. Cancer cell dissemination, quantified as circulating tumor cells (CTCs), was modulated by the immune microenvironment: interleukin-4 (IL-4, anti-inflammatory-like) conditions promoted peak CTC release, whereas lipopolysaccharide (LPS, pro-inflammatory-like) stimulation suppressed this dissemination. Our model integrates the vascular, tumor, and immune compartments within a single construct, providing a versatile platform for investigations of breast cancer dissemination and tumor-immune crosstalk.