Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 18, 2026
A Biomimetic Model for Liver Cancer to Study Tumor-Stroma Interactions in a 3D Environment with Tunable Bio-Physical Properties
Published on: August 7, 2020
Cell sheet-based multilayered liver tumor models for anti-cancer drug screening
Jianing Yang1, Shengjun Zhao2, Yunfei Ji3
1Department of Spine Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Chengde Medical University, Chengde, 067000, Hebei, China.
Objective:
To fabricate in vitro cell-dense, three-dimensional (3D) tumor models by employing a cell sheet technology for testing anti-cancer drug efficacy.
Results:
The stratified liver tumor models were fabricated by stacking contiguous HepG2 cell sheets. Triple-layer (3L), double-layer (2L), single-layer (1L) cell sheet-based liver tumor models (CSLTMs) demonstrated 106, 96, 85% cell viability, respectively, after 3 days treatment of 10 µM doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX), while cell viability in two-dimensional (2D) conventional culture (control) was 27%. After 7 days of DOX treatment, the viabilities of 3L, 2L, 1L, control were 24, 14, 3 and 4%, respectively. Probable explanations were blocked diffusion of DOX by the intact and multilayered structure and also hypoxia in the bottom of multilayered cell sheets.
Conclusion:
CSLTMs showed a thickness-dependent cytotoxic efficacy of DOX and greater drug resistance than the control, thereby providing useful information toward the development of improved biomimetic tumor models.
