The extracellular matrix of solid tumors presents a transport barrier that restricts nanoparticle penetration, thereby limiting the efficacy of nano-sized delivery vehicles for cancer imaging and therapy. In this study, the effect of nanoparticle size and collagenase treatment on penetration of carboxylated polystyrene nanoparticles was systematically assessed in a multicellular spheroid model....

Emphysema, a pathologic component of the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, causes irreversible destruction of lung. Many researchers have reported that mesenchymal stem cells can regenerate lung tissue after emphysema. We evaluated if spheroid human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs) showed greater regenerative effects than dissociated ASCs in mice with elastase-induced emphysem...

Nitrogen fixation is not regarded as a eukaryotic invention. The process has only been reported as being carried out by bacteria. These prokaryotes typically interact with their eukaryotic hosts as extracellular and temporary nonobligate nitrogen-fixing symbionts. However, intracellular permanent "spheroid bodies" have been reported within the fresh-water diatom Rhopalodia gibba, and these, too...

Multi-cellular spheroids are enriched in ascites of epithelial ovarian cancer (OvCa) patients. They represent an invasive and chemoresistant cellular population fundamental to metastatic dissemination. The molecular mechanisms triggering single cell invasive egress from spheroids remain enigmatic. mDia formins are Rho GTPase effectors that are key regulators of F-actin cytoskeletal dynamics. We...

Three-dimensional (3D) cell culture is gaining acceptance in response to the need for cellular models that better mimic physiologic tissues. Spheroids are one such 3D model where clusters of cells will undergo self-assembly to form viable, 3D tumor-like structures. However, to date little is known about how spheroid biology compares to that of the more traditional and widely utilized 2D monolay...

Adverse reactions or lack of response to medications are important concerns for drug development programs. However, faithful predictions of drug metabolism and toxicity are difficult because animal models show only limited translatability to humans. Furthermore, current in vitro systems, such as hepatic cell lines or primary human hepatocyte (PHH) 2-dimensional (2D) monolayer cultures, can be u...

PURPOSE Corneal stromal cells transform to precursor cells in spheroid culture. We determined whether keratocytes derived from spheroid culture of murine corneal stromal cells resemble tissue resident keratocytes. METHODS Spheroid culture was performed by seeding dissociated stromal cells onto ultra-low attachment plates containing serum-free mesenchymal stem cell culture medium. Spheroids we...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE A human glioma spheroid model is used to investigate the efficacy of different light delivery schemes in 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA)--mediated photodynamic therapy (PDT). The results provide the rationale for the development of an indwelling balloon applicator for optimizing light delivery. STUDY DESIGN/MATERIALS AND METHODS Human glioma spheroids were incubated in AL...

PURPOSE The Lauren diffuse type of gastric adenocarcinoma (DGA), as opposed to the intestinal type (IGA), often harbors mutations in RHOA, but little is known about the role of RhoA in DGA. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN We examined RhoA activity and RhoA pathway inhibition in DGA cell lines and in two mouse xenograft models. RhoA activity was also assessed in patient tumor samples. RESULTS RhoA activ...

Hepatocyte spheroids microencapsulated in hydrogels can contribute to liver research in various capacities. The conventional approach of microencapsulating spheroids produces a variable number of spheroids per microgel and requires an extra step of spheroid loading into the gel. Here, a microfluidics technology bypassing the step of spheroid loading and controlling the spheroid characteristics ...