Tumor-stromal Interactions
Tumor-stromal Interactions - Related Videos
08:39
Three-dimensional Co-culture Model for Tumor-stromal Interaction
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Cited by 14 •
2015
Here we present a protocol to co-culture in three-dimensions, which is useful for investigating multicellular interactions and extracellular matrix-dependent modulation of cancer cell behavior. In this experimental model, cancer cells are cultured on collagen gels embedded with human cancer-associated fibroblasts.
12:24
A Three-Dimensional Spheroid Model to Investigate the Tumor-Stromal Interaction in Hepatocellular Carcinoma
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Cited by 6 •
2021
Comprehensive in vitro models that faithfully recapitulate the relevant human disease are lacking. The current study presents three-dimensional (3D) tumor spheroid creation and culture, a reliable in vitro tool to study the tumor-stromal interaction in human hepatocellular carcinoma.
05:48
Tissue Engineering of Tumor Stromal Microenvironment with Application to Cancer Cell Invasion
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Cited by 7 •
2014
Tissue engineered fibroblast-derived native matrix is an emerging tool to generate a stromal substrate which supports epithelial cell proliferation and differentiation. Here a protocol applying this methodology to assess the impact of different stromal cell types on tumor cell biology is presented.
12:42
Heterotypic Three-dimensional In Vitro Modeling of Stromal-Epithelial Interactions During Ovarian Cancer Initiation and Progression
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Cited by 20 •
2012
We describe methodologies for establishing in vitro heterotypic three-dimensional models comprising ovarian fibroblasts and normal ovarian surface or ovarian cancer epithelial cells. We discuss the use of these models to study stromal-epithelial interactions that occur during ovarian cancer development.
07:20
A Novel Stromal Fibroblast-Modulated 3D Tumor Spheroid Model for Studying Tumor-Stroma Interaction and Drug Discovery
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Cited by 22 •
2020
A novel three-dimensional spheroid model based on the heterotypic interaction of tumor cells and stromal fibroblasts is established. Here, we present coculture of tumor cells and stromal fibroblasts, time-lapse imaging, and confocal microscopy to visualize the formation of spheroids. This three-dimensional model offers a pertinent platform to study tumor-stroma interactions and test cancer therapeutics.
FAQs
The interaction operates as a feedback loop: cancer cells release cytokines, growth factors, and other signals that activate nearby stromal cells, while those stromal cells send influences back to the tumor. This reciprocal communication can establish a supportive niche, alter cancer-cell behavior, and promote growth, invasion, angiogenesis, and changes in immune responses.
These stromal populations contribute different forms of support or regulation. Cancer-associated fibroblasts respond to tumor-derived signals, endothelial cells participate in processes associated with blood-vessel formation, and immune cells influence local immune responses. Their combined activity changes the environment surrounding malignant cells, affecting how tumors grow, invade tissue, and interact with host defenses.
Signaling factors provide communication between malignant cells and surrounding nonmalignant components, allowing each side to modify the other's behavior. The extracellular matrix forms part of this local context and participates in the tumor microenvironment that supports tumor development. Studying these elements together helps explain how tumors maintain supportive niches and acquire conditions favorable to invasion.
The surrounding microenvironment can help tumors persist under treatment by providing signals and conditions that support malignant cells. Because cancer cells and stromal components influence one another, targeting malignant cells alone may leave supportive interactions intact. This principle motivates strategies that address both tumor cells and the surrounding microenvironment when investigating treatment resistance.
A useful research approach is to map the communication in both directions: identify signals released by cancer cells, determine how stromal populations respond, and then assess effects on tumor growth, invasion, angiogenesis, or immune responses. This framework connects molecular communication with observable cancer behavior and helps researchers determine which interactions may be biologically important.
Studying the surrounding microenvironment is especially useful when researchers need to explain tumor progression, spread to distant tissues, or resistance to treatment. Cancer cells do not act in isolation; stromal responses can modify their behavior and the local conditions around them. Including these interactions therefore provides a broader basis for interpreting cancer development and therapeutic responses.
Mapping these interactions can reveal how the tumor environment supports growth, invasion, angiogenesis, immune changes, and persistence during treatment. Those mechanisms may provide information relevant to diagnosis and prognosis while also identifying the surrounding signals or cell populations that therapies could target. The goal is to develop strategies that address malignant cells together with their supportive environment.