Three-Dimensional Hepatocyte Spheroids: Model for Assessing Chemotherapy in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Three-dimensional cellular models provide a more comprehensive representation of in vivo cell properties, encompassing physiological characteristics and drug susceptibility.

Primary hepatocytes were seeded in ultra-low attachment plates to form spheroids, with or without tumoral cells. Spheroid structure, cell proliferation, and apoptosis were analyzed using histological staining techniques. In addition, extracellular vesicles were isolated from conditioned media by differential ultracentrifugation. Spheroids were exposed to cytotoxic drugs, and both spheroid growth and cell death were measured by microscopic imaging and flow cytometry with vital staining, respectively.

Concerning spheroid structure, an active outer layer forms a boundary with the media, while the inner core comprises a mass of cell debris. Hepatocyte-formed spheroids release vesicles into the extracellular media, and a decrease in the concentration of vesicles in the culture media can be observed over time. When co-cultured with tumoral cells, a distinct distribution pattern emerges over the primary hepatocytes, resulting in different spheroid conformations. Tumoral cell growth was compromised upon antitumoral drug challenges.

Treatment of mixed spheroids with different cytotoxic drugs enables the characterization of drug effects on both hepatocytes and tumoral cells, determining drug specificity effects on these cell types.