The lung microenvironment influences the metastatic behaviour of breast cancer cells in an innovative 3D ex vivo pulmonary metastasis model

Author

Matt M. Piaseczny, The University of Western OntarioFollow

Degree

Master of Science

Program

Anatomy and Cell Biology

Supervisor

Dr. Alison Allan

Abstract

Lung metastasis remains a leading cause of death in breast cancer patients. This study established an innovative 3D ex vivo pulmonary metastasis assay (PuMA) to test the hypothesis that the lung microenvironment promotes metastatic behaviour of whole population and stem-like ALDH^hiCD44⁺ breast cancer cells. Following in vivo delivery of breast cancer cells to mice, lungs were excised, maintained in culture and imaged to observe breast cancer growth over time. We observed metastatic progression of breast cancer cells in the PuMA, most notably of ALDH^hiCD44⁺ cells which progressed rapidly from single cells to multicellular colonies over 21 days relative to their ALDH^loCD44^- counterparts (p≤0.05). Although soluble lung-derived bFGF induced breast cancer cell proliferation in vitro, blocking bFGF in the PuMA showed only a trend towards inhibition of breast cancer cell growth. This model system will be valuable for elucidating the interaction between breast cancer cells and the lung during metastatic progression.

Recommended Citation

Piaseczny, Matt M., "The lung microenvironment influences the metastatic behaviour of breast cancer cells in an innovative 3D ex vivo pulmonary metastasis model" (2015). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 2915.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/2915