Figure 5.

Neuroblastoma microtumours in Matrigel sandwich mimicking differentiation therapy. (a) Perfusion altered the pluripotency markers of the micro-neuroblastoma, shown at day 14. Scale bar: 100 µm. Comparisons between micro-neuroblastoma in the static and perfusion culture, at day 35. Quantification of fluorescent images by ImageJ shown in bar graph. (b) Image analysis via ImageJ reveals that in perfusion culture more neurite-like structures were observed, indicating a potential differentiation – promotion effect of the perfusion flow. (c) Retinoic acid treated group in perfusion has lower treatment response compared with the static culture, indicating a higher resistance by perfused neuroblastoma microtumours to the differentiation therapy mimicked. For statistics, all the groups have four replicates and the experiments were repeated for three times. Results are presented as mean ± SD. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01 by Student’s t-test.