Tumor metastasis, an important step in the progression of cancer, involves the migration of tumor cells into the circulatory system. As such, understanding this process is vital in order to better treat and prevent the spread of cancer within the body. Currently, the scientific community’s knowledge of the mechanism for the interaction between cancer cells and endothelial cells, the cells which make up the walls of blood vessels, during tumor metastasis is insufficient. A cell-cell interaction model based on the microfluidic platform was created to quantitatively study endothelial and cancer cell interactions. Microfluidics offers an ideal method to study this cell-cell interaction due to the capability to sustain <i>in vivo</i>-like microenvironments with excellent spatial and temporal resolution. Additionally, microfluidic devices are low cost, chemically efficient, and allow for both two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) cell cultures. Three separate aspects of the <i>in vivo</i> tumor microenvironment were studied, including the effects of chemoattractant gradients (interleukin 8 (IL-8) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α)), flow rate and sheer stress, and hypoxic environments. These aspects were then joined into a combined study which revealed novel insights into the mechanisms of cellular interactions.

Using microfluidic platforms to develop a model of cell-cell communication in cancer

251st National Meeting (2016)

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