Table 3.
In vitro drug research studies using 3D cell/tissue spheroids combined with gelatin microparticles.
| Ref. | Date | Tissue or Disease | Cells Used | Growth Factors or Drugs Released | Main Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [59] | 2017 | Epithelial | Mammary epithelial cells | - | β-casein expression of epithelial spheroids incorporating gelatin microparticles coated with Matrigel was higher than microparticles-free spheroids. |
| [60] | 2017 | Cancer | Cancer-associated fibroblasts and cancer cells | - | Cancer cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) spheroids combined with gelatin particles showed a stromal matrix rich in collagen deposition and expressed the desmoplastic reaction markers. |
| [61] | 2017 | Epithelial | Mammary epithelial cells and preadipocyte cells | - | Epithelial-preadipocytes multicellular spheroids incorporating gelatin microparticles showed the enhancement of β-casein expression compared to spheroids in the absence of the gelatin microparticles. |
| [62] | 2017 | Bone | Pre-osteoblast cells | Bone morphogenic proteins-2 (BMP-2) | When spheroids incorporating gelatin microparticles containing BMP-2 were prepared, efficient osteogenic differentiation was observed compared to spheroids incorporating gelatin microparticles. |
| [63] | 2018 | Cancer | Cancer-associated fibroblasts and cancer cells | - | Cancer cells and CAF spheroids embedded gelatin particles enabled the evaluation of the anti-cancer drug effects efficiently. |
| [64] | 2018 | Pancreas | Insulinoma cells | - | The insulinoma spheroids incorporating gelatin microparticles prompted the secretion of insulin. |
| [65] | 2018 | Cancer | Cancer cells, endothelial cells, and fibroblasts | - | 3D tissue model consisting of cancer cells, endothelial cells, and fibroblasts was prepared. In this model, aberrant capillary-like structures were observed, which are important events of breast cancer progression. |
| [39] | 2019 | Cancer | Cancer-associated fibroblasts and cancer cells | p53 inhibitor | CAF spheroids incorporating gelatin microparticles containing a p53 inhibitor were prepared to activate the CAF function in vitro, similar to in vivo. The activated CAF spheroids can promote the invasion ability of cancer cells. |
| [66] | 2020 | Cancer | Cancer-associated fibroblasts and cancer cells | Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) |
CAF spheroids incorporating gelatin microparticles containing TGF-β enabled increased invasion rate of cancer cells, responding to TGF-β concentration. |
| [67] | 2020 | Cancer | Cancer-associated fibroblasts, macrophages, and cancer cells | Adenosine and TGF-β | 3D tumor-associated macrophages incorporating gelatin microparticles containing adenosine and 3D CAF incorporating gelatin microparticles containing TGF-β were combined. This system can mimic the tumor microenvironment, responding to the tissue region. |