3D-Tissue engineering based on control of cell microenvironments

Abstract

Living tissues are composed of cells and extracellular matrix (ECM). ECM controls not only cell adhesion but also cell assembly. We have developed cell accumulation technique, which allows construction of three-dimensional (3D) tissues via controlling cell-cell interaction by fabrication of ECM nanofilms on cell surfaces. The 3D-tissues containing networks of blood and lymph endothelial cells have been obtained by sandwich culture of these cells. When cancer cells were cultured on the surface of the 3D-tissues with capillary networks, invasion and intravasation phenomena of the cancer cells were observed depending on the characters of cancer cells. The 3D-tissues with capillary networks are expected to apply for predictive medicine of cancer at early stage.