Arinola Lampejo
Graduate Student, Biomedical Engineering Program
Biomimetic tumor microenvironment models bridge the gap between in vitro and in vivo systems and serve as a useful way to address the modeling challenge of how to recreate the cell and system complexity associated with real tissues. Our laboratory has developed an ex vivo rat mesentery culture model, which allows for simultaneous investigation of blood and lymphatic microvascular network remodeling in an intact tissue environment. Given that angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis are key contributors to the progression of cancer, the objective of this study was to combine tissue and tumor spheroidculture methods to establish a novel ex vivo tumor spheroid-tissue model by verifying its use for evaluating the effects of cancer cell behavior on the local microvascular environment. H1299 or A549 tumor spheroids were formed via hanging dropculture and seeded onto rat mesenteric tissues harvested from adult male Wistar rats. Tissues with transplanted spheroids were cultured in serum-free media for 3 to 5 days. PECAM, NG2, CD11b, and αSMA labeling identified endothelial cells, pericytes, immune cells, and smooth muscle cells, respectively. Time-lapse imaging confirmed cancer cell type specific migration. In addition to increasing PECAM positive capillary sprouting and LYVE-1 positive endothelial cell extensions indicative of lymphangiogenesis, tumor spheroid presence induced the formation of lymphatic/blood vessel connections and the formation of hybrid, mosaic vessels that were characterized by discontinuous LYVE-1 labeling. The results supportthe application of a novel tumor spheroid microenvironment model for investigating cancer cell–microvascular interactions.
Arinola Lampejo is a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate working with Dr. Lee Murfee in the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering. Her research focuses on how cancer affects influences angiogenic and lymphangiogenic growth and remodeling in the tumor microenvironment.
Core Standards
SC.912.L.14.42
Describe the anatomy and the physiology of the lymph system.
SC.912.L.14.34
Describe the composition and physiology of blood, including that of the plasma and the formed elements.
SC.912.L.16.8
Explain the relationship between mutation, cell cycle, and uncontrolled cell growth potentially resulting in cancer.
SC.912.L.16.10
Evaluate the impact of biotechnology on the individual, society and the environment, including medical and ethical issues.
SC.912.N.1.1
Define a problem based on a specific body of knowledge, for example: biology, chemistry, physics, and earth/space science, and do the following: Pose questions about the natural world, (Articulate the purpose of the investigation and identify the relevant scientific concepts), Conduct systematic observations, Examine books and other sources of information to see what is already known, Communicate results of scientific investigations, and Evaluate the merits of the explanations produced by others.
SC.912.N.1.7
Recognize the role of creativity in constructing scientific questions, methods and explanations.