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Updated: Feb 28, 2026

A Three-dimensional Tissue Culture Model to Study Primary Human Bone Marrow and its Malignancies
Published on: March 8, 2014
3D-Dynamic Culture Models of Multiple Myeloma
Marina Ferrarini1, Nathalie Steimberg2, Jennifer Boniotti2
1Division of Experimental Oncology, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Via Olgettina 60, 20132, Milan, Italy. ferrarini.marina@hsr.it.
Abstract:
3D-dynamic culture models represent an invaluable tool for a better comprehension of tumor biology and drug response, as they accurately re-create/preserve the complex multicellular organization and the dynamic interactions of the parental microenvironment, which can affect tumor fate and drug sensitivity. Hence, development of models that recapitulate tumor within its embedding microenvironment is an imperative need. This is particularly true for multiple myeloma (MM), which survives almost exclusively in the bone marrow (BM). To meet this need, we have previously exploited and validated an innovative 3D-dynamic culture technology, based on the use of the Rotary Cell Culture System (RCCS ™) bioreactor . Here, we describe, step by step, the procedures we have employed to establish two human MM ex vivo models, i.e., the culture of human BM-derived isolated cells and of MM tissues from patients.

