Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 5, 2026
Studying Triple Negative Breast Cancer Using Orthotopic Breast Cancer Model
Published on: March 20, 2020
From Luminal to Triple Negative: 3D Spheroids Reveal Molecular and Phenotypic Differences Across Breast Cancer
Maria Miguel Castro1,2,3,4, Letícia Maretti1,4,5, Catarina Esquível1,4,5
1Cancer Metastasis, i3S, Institute for Research and Innovation in Health, University of Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal.
None:
Breast cancer is classified into distinct molecular subtypes, including Luminal A, Luminal B, HER2-enriched, Basal-like, and Claudin-low. While traditional studies mostly use 2D cell cultures, 3D models better mimic in vivo tumor conditions. In this study, we generated and characterized 3D spheroids from breast cancer cell lines representing different molecular subtypes. Morphologically, spheroids were either compact (MCF-7/AZ, T47D, BT474, MDA-IBC-3, BT-20, SUM149PT) or loosely adhered (MDA-MB-468, SK-BR-3, MDA-MB-231), while retaining key parental subtype biomarkers. Cell viability decreased with increasing spheroid size, but apoptotic cCasp3 staining was restricted to Basal-like spheroids. Compact spheroids expressed E- and/or P-cadherin, indicating epithelial or epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) hybrid traits, while loose spheroids showed vimentin expression linked to a mesenchymal phenotype. In conclusion, EMT-associated features, rather than intrinsic molecular subtype, may contribute to 3D spheroid architecture of breast cancer cell lines.
