Towards an In Vitro 3D Model for Photosynthetic Cancer Treatment: A Study of Microalgae and Tumor Cell Interactions

As hypoxic tumors show resistance to several clinical treatments, photosynthetic microorganisms have been recently suggested as a promising safe alternative for oxygenating the tumor microenvironment. The relationship between organisms and the effect microalgae have on tumors is still largely unknow...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of molecular sciences 2022-11, Vol.23 (21), p.13550
Main Authors: Holmes, Christopher, Varas, Juan, San Martín, Sebastián, Egaña, José Tomás
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algae
Apoptosis
Aquatic microorganisms
Biocompatibility
Cancer therapies
Cell Communication
Cell culture
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii - metabolism
Collagen
Cyanobacteria
Humans
Hydrogels
Hypoxia
Medical prognosis
Melanoma
Metabolism
Microalgae - metabolism
Microorganisms
Morphology
Neoplasms
Oxygen - metabolism
Oxygenation
Photodynamic therapy
Photosynthesis
Physiology
Tumor cells
Tumor Microenvironment
Tumors
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Summary:As hypoxic tumors show resistance to several clinical treatments, photosynthetic microorganisms have been recently suggested as a promising safe alternative for oxygenating the tumor microenvironment. The relationship between organisms and the effect microalgae have on tumors is still largely unknown, evidencing the need for a simple yet representative model for studying photosynthetic tumor oxygenation in a reproducible manner. Here, we present a 3D photosynthetic tumor model composed of human melanoma cells and the microalgae , both seeded into a collagen scaffold, which allows for the simultaneous study of both cell types. This work focuses on the biocompatibility and cellular interactions of the two cell types, as well as the study of photosynthetic oxygenation of the tumor cells. It is shown that both cell types are biocompatible with one another at cell culture conditions and that a 10:1 ratio of microalgae to cells meets the metabolic requirement of the tumor cells, producing over twice the required amount of oxygen. This 3D tumor model provides an easy-to-use in vitro resource for analyzing the effects of photosynthetically produced oxygen on a tumor microenvironment, thus opening various potential research avenues.
ISSN:1422-0067
1661-6596
1422-0067
DOI:10.3390/ijms232113550