Optimizing the Cell Number and Size for Tumor Spheroid Modeling Using Amyloid Hydrogel

One of the leading reasons of female mortality on a global scale is breast cancer. Tumor size has been a crucial parameter in predicting the rate of tumor growth and metastasis. Regular core biopsy techniques usually result in a low yield of cancer cells. Hence, developing an in vitro platform with low cell numbers can be an invaluable tool for studying breast cancer. 3D spheroid culture is a promising alternative to animal models for applications such as drug testing and personalized medicine. The self-assembling KLMEI peptide amyloid hydrogel can be used as a matrix to support tumor spheroid formation for MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells across various cell numbers. Over 7 days, MDA-MB-231 spheroids exhibited higher proliferation than MCF-7, even at low cell numbers. Overall, the study shows that by adjusting the cell-to-gel ratios, viable spheroids can be developed to mimic different-sized in vivo tumors. The ability of the hydrogel to support co-culture spheroids formation is also examined by introducing fibroblasts with MCF-7 cells to induce angiogenesis and mimic the heterogeneous cell environment typical of in vivo tumors. Therefore, this platform possesses a promising potential for developing 3D spheroids to study the different aspects of breast cancer.