Microtubular Assessment of C6 Rat Glioma Cell Spheroids Developed in Transparent Liquid Marbles or Hanging Drops

Glioblastoma is a brain tumour frequently used as an experimental model to exploit innovative therapeutic approaches due to its high lethality and refractoriness to therapies. Part of these innovative anticancer therapies address cytoskeletal microtubules (MTs) since specific tubulin post-translatio...

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Main Authors: Arianna Langella, Sergio Domenico Gadau, Elisa Serra, Daniela Bebbere, Sergio Ledda
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-03-01
Series:Biology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/11/4/492
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author Arianna Langella
Sergio Domenico Gadau
Elisa Serra
Daniela Bebbere
Sergio Ledda
author_facet Arianna Langella
Sergio Domenico Gadau
Elisa Serra
Daniela Bebbere
Sergio Ledda
author_sort Arianna Langella
collection DOAJ
description Glioblastoma is a brain tumour frequently used as an experimental model to exploit innovative therapeutic approaches due to its high lethality and refractoriness to therapies. Part of these innovative anticancer therapies address cytoskeletal microtubules (MTs) since specific tubulin post-translational modifications (PTMs) are considered markers of tumour plasticity. In vitro studies, which traditionally employ two-dimensional (2D) culture systems, are now being replaced by three-dimensional (3D) systems that more closely mimic in vivo physiological conditions and allow a better understanding of the signalling between cells. In this work, we compared 2 liquid base 3D methods for the generation of spheroids from C6 rat glioma cells (RGCs) using 30 µL of liquid marble (LM) or the hanging drops (HDs), which contained 2 different cell numbers (5000 or 15,000). After 24 or 48 h of in vitro culture (IVC), the morphology of the spheroids was observed and the behaviour of the two main tubulin PTMs, tyrosinated α-tubulin (Tyr-T) and acetylated α-tubulin (Ac-T), was evaluated by fluorescence and Western blot (WB). RGCs spontaneously formed spherical agglomerates more rapidly in the LM than in the HD system. Cell density influenced the size of the spheroids, which reached a larger size (> of 300 µm Ø), with 15,000 cells compared to 5000 cells (150 µm Ø). Moreover, an increase in Tyr-T and Ac-T was observed in both the HD and LM system from 24 to 48 h, with the highest values shown in the 48 h/LM spheroids of 5000 cells (<i>p</i> < 0.05). In conclusion, by comparing the morphology and microtubular architecture of spheroids from C6 rat glioma cells developed by LM or HD methodology, our findings demonstrate that the use of a fumed silica microbioreactor boosts the induction and maintenance of a high plasticity state in glioma cells. RGCs cultured in LM express levels of tubulin PTMs that can be used to evaluate the efficacy of new anticancer therapies.
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spelling doaj.art-97ac1cab8b1049cd9f569d2c4ad385492023-12-01T00:50:23ZengMDPI AGBiology2079-77372022-03-0111449210.3390/biology11040492Microtubular Assessment of C6 Rat Glioma Cell Spheroids Developed in Transparent Liquid Marbles or Hanging DropsArianna Langella0Sergio Domenico Gadau1Elisa Serra2Daniela Bebbere3Sergio Ledda4Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, Via Vienna 2, 07100 Sassari, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, Via Vienna 2, 07100 Sassari, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, Via Vienna 2, 07100 Sassari, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, Via Vienna 2, 07100 Sassari, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, Via Vienna 2, 07100 Sassari, ItalyGlioblastoma is a brain tumour frequently used as an experimental model to exploit innovative therapeutic approaches due to its high lethality and refractoriness to therapies. Part of these innovative anticancer therapies address cytoskeletal microtubules (MTs) since specific tubulin post-translational modifications (PTMs) are considered markers of tumour plasticity. In vitro studies, which traditionally employ two-dimensional (2D) culture systems, are now being replaced by three-dimensional (3D) systems that more closely mimic in vivo physiological conditions and allow a better understanding of the signalling between cells. In this work, we compared 2 liquid base 3D methods for the generation of spheroids from C6 rat glioma cells (RGCs) using 30 µL of liquid marble (LM) or the hanging drops (HDs), which contained 2 different cell numbers (5000 or 15,000). After 24 or 48 h of in vitro culture (IVC), the morphology of the spheroids was observed and the behaviour of the two main tubulin PTMs, tyrosinated α-tubulin (Tyr-T) and acetylated α-tubulin (Ac-T), was evaluated by fluorescence and Western blot (WB). RGCs spontaneously formed spherical agglomerates more rapidly in the LM than in the HD system. Cell density influenced the size of the spheroids, which reached a larger size (> of 300 µm Ø), with 15,000 cells compared to 5000 cells (150 µm Ø). Moreover, an increase in Tyr-T and Ac-T was observed in both the HD and LM system from 24 to 48 h, with the highest values shown in the 48 h/LM spheroids of 5000 cells (<i>p</i> < 0.05). In conclusion, by comparing the morphology and microtubular architecture of spheroids from C6 rat glioma cells developed by LM or HD methodology, our findings demonstrate that the use of a fumed silica microbioreactor boosts the induction and maintenance of a high plasticity state in glioma cells. RGCs cultured in LM express levels of tubulin PTMs that can be used to evaluate the efficacy of new anticancer therapies.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/11/4/492liquid marblehanging dropsglioma cells3D culturemicrotubular assessment
spellingShingle Arianna Langella
Sergio Domenico Gadau
Elisa Serra
Daniela Bebbere
Sergio Ledda
Microtubular Assessment of C6 Rat Glioma Cell Spheroids Developed in Transparent Liquid Marbles or Hanging Drops
Biology
liquid marble
hanging drops
glioma cells
3D culture
microtubular assessment
title Microtubular Assessment of C6 Rat Glioma Cell Spheroids Developed in Transparent Liquid Marbles or Hanging Drops
title_full Microtubular Assessment of C6 Rat Glioma Cell Spheroids Developed in Transparent Liquid Marbles or Hanging Drops
title_fullStr Microtubular Assessment of C6 Rat Glioma Cell Spheroids Developed in Transparent Liquid Marbles or Hanging Drops
title_full_unstemmed Microtubular Assessment of C6 Rat Glioma Cell Spheroids Developed in Transparent Liquid Marbles or Hanging Drops
title_short Microtubular Assessment of C6 Rat Glioma Cell Spheroids Developed in Transparent Liquid Marbles or Hanging Drops
title_sort microtubular assessment of c6 rat glioma cell spheroids developed in transparent liquid marbles or hanging drops
topic liquid marble
hanging drops
glioma cells
3D culture
microtubular assessment
url https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/11/4/492
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