| 초록 |
Cancer metastasis is the primary cause of tumor-associated deaths. In this study, a microfluidic chip mimicking the lymph vessel-tissue-blood vessel (LTB) channels was fabricated to provide useful platform for deeper understanding of cancer cell migration, colonization, and invasion. The proposed microfluidic device has channels in the middle that filled with collagen-based hydrogel to mimic the tissues in vivo. HUVECs and HLECs were cultivated to form a layer on the side of the hydrogel in the LTB chip. Based on the LTB chip, the inflammatory cytokine interleukin 6 (IL-6), and their communication in the lymphatic metastasis were successfully confirmed. The IL-6 treatment to different subtypes of breast cancer cells induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) as well as enhanced tissue invasion ability (8-fold). Moreover, VEGF secretion showed the human vein endothelial cells growth towards the lymph vessel channel after IL-6 treatment. The fabricated LTB chip can be used as a unique tool to understand the tumor microenvironment under the variety of extracellular stimuli such as inflammatory cytokines, hypoxia, nutrient deficiency, and stromal reactions. |
