Comparison of angiogenesis assays based on microfluidic and co-culture systems

• Main Author: Nur Raihan Binte Abdul Jalil
• Other Authors: Lim Sierin
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/68418
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Angiogenesis, which entails the growth of new capillaries from pre-existing ones, is an integral part of both physiological and pathological processes, including tumor progression and metastasis. Over the years, the study of cancer angiogenesis has grown exponentially, especially with the advent of effectual anti-cancer drugs. However, the choice of appropriate in vitro angiogenesis assay that can recapitulate the 3D tumor microenvironment remains a problem. Therefore, in vitro angiogenesis studies based on two common platforms, namely microfluidic and co-culture systems, are evaluated. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the systems, the angiogenic interactions between HUVEC-C3 cells, HepG2 dsRed tumor spheroids and microenvironments were investigated. Prior to these experiments, spheroids of consistently uniform sizes were successfully generated via force aggregation method. In the case of microfluidic system, Huvec-C3 cells actively sprout into the collagen matrix, towards the angiogenic stimuli of the tumor spheroids across the channels. On the other hand, upon co-culturing of the Huvec-C3 and HepG2 dsRed cells, network formation of ECs was regulated to evaluate the effectiveness of the system. These combined findings ultimately highlight the differences and similarities in their potential to serve as in vitro platforms for elucidating the mechanisms of angiogenesis and even for future anti-angiogenesis studies.