Hydrophobic surface induced pro-metastatic cancer cells for <i>in vitro</i> extravasation models.

Abstract

<i>In vitro</i> vascularized cancer models utilizing microfluidics have emerged as a promising tool for mechanism study and drug screening. However, the lack of consideration and preparation methods for cancer cellular sources that are capable of adequately replicating the metastatic features of circulating tumor cells contributed to low relevancy with <i>in vivo</i> experimental results. Here, we show that the properties of cancer cellular sources have a considerable impact on the validity of the <i>in vitro</i> metastasis model. Notably, with a hydrophobic surface, we can create highly metastatic spheroids equipped with aggressive invasion, endothelium adhesion capabilities, and activated metabolic features. Combining these metastatic spheroids with the well-constructed microfluidic-based extravasation model, we validate that these metastatic spheroids exhibited a distinct extravasation response to epidermal growth factor (EGF) and normal human lung fibroblasts compared to the 2D cultured cancer cells, which is consistent with the previously reported results of <i>in vivo</i> experiments. Furthermore, the applicability of the developed model as a therapeutic screening platform for cancer extravasation is validated through profiling and inhibition of cytokines. We believe this model incorporating hydrophobic surface-cultured 3D cancer cells provides reliable experimental data in a clear and concise manner, bridging the gap between the conventional <i>in vitro</i> models and <i>in vivo</i> experiments.