Open AccessEstradiol Exposure Differentially Alters Monolayer versus Microtissue MCF-7 Human Breast Carcinoma Cultures
Author(s) -
Marguerite M. Vantangoli,
Samantha J. Madnick,
Shelby Wilson,
Kim Boekelheide
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0157997
Subject(s) - amphiregulin , estrogen receptor , cell culture , microbiology and biotechnology , mcf 7 , estrogen , in vitro , biology , cancer research , cell adhesion , cell , chemistry , endocrinology , cancer cell , cancer , breast cancer , human breast , biochemistry , epidermal growth factor , genetics
The development of three-dimensional (3D) cultures is increasing, as they are able to provide the utility of in vitro models and the strength of testing in physiologically relevant systems. When cultured in a scaffold-free agarose hydrogel system, MCF-7 human breast carcinoma cells organize and develop into microtissues that contain a luminal space, in stark contrast to the flat morphology of MCF-7 two-dimensional (2D) monolayer cultures. Following exposure to 1nM E2, expression of typical estrogen-responsive genes, including progesterone receptor (PGR), PDZ containing domain 1 (PDZK1) and amphiregulin (AREG) is increased in both 2D and 3D cultures. When examining expression of other genes, particularly those involved in cell adhesion, there were large changes in 3D MCF-7 microtissues, with little to no change observed in the MCF-7 monolayer cultures. Together, these results indicate that while the initial estrogen-regulated transcriptional targets respond similarly in 2D and 3D cultures, there are large differences in activation of other pathways related to cell-cell interactions.