Every year there are nearly two million new cases of invasive breast cancer worldwide and over 500,000 deaths, the majority from metastatic sites. While cellular changes during tumorigenesis and progression have been studied, our understanding of extracellular matrix remodeling, at the fiber level, by individual and collective cellular cohorts remains limited. Furthermore, recent studies suggest that there is a correlation between the organization of collagen I fibers perpendicular to the tumor and patient survival. However, the underlying mechanism of this alignment remains unknown. The central hypothesis proposed in this dissertation is that breast cancer tumors reorganize collagen I fibers perpendicular to the tumor surface via integrin β1 and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). To investigate this hypothesis, we developed a novel in vitro assay that replicates collagen I fiber alignment previously reported in vivo and a new quantitative collagen I fiber orientation algorithm. Our studies using multicellular aggregates, derived from the triple negative breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231, embedded into collagen I matrices and confocal reflectance microscopy provide novel insights into how the local microenvironment is affected and into local orientation of the collagen I fibers near the spheroid-collagen I interface. These results agree well with our computational studies. Furthermore, the viability of the algorithm is demonstrated using both in silico and in vitro derived images, and shows that this algorithm is more accurate than similar algorithms previously published. Using the developed in vitro assay and computational algorithm it is also demonstrated that knocking down integrin β1 reduces the amount of collagen I aligned perpendicularly to the tumor surface, while inhibiting MMP activity using the broad spectrum MMP inhibitor GM6001 increases the amount of collagen I aligned perpendicularly to the tumor surface at early time points. The work presented here has implications in three-dimensional multicellular assays, accurate fiber orientation analysis, and understanding the role of integrins in matrix reorganization and cancer cell metastasis. / 2019-08-09T00:00:00Z

Introdução: Fibroblastos gengivais desempenham um importante papel na regeneração de tecidos moles de proteção. Mucograft® (MCS-3D) é um substituto xenógeno novo que vem sendo utilizado na periodontia em técnicas de recobrimento radicular e aumento de tecido queratinizado. O objetivo do presente estudo foi avaliar morfológica e imunohistoquimicamente, se a MCS-3D é uma matriz tridimensional adequada, por meio de sua resposta à cultura de fibroblastos gengivais. Material e Métodos: Fibroblastos gengivais humanos (FGH) foram obtidos pela técnica do explante a partir de tecido conjuntivo gengival de três indivíduos. Os FGH foram cultivados sobre colágeno bovino bidimensional (ColB-2D), colágeno bovino tridimensional (ColB-3D) e matriz colágena suína tridimensional (MCS-3D) por até 10 dias. Em 3, 7 e 10 dias, os seguintes parâmetros foram avaliados: número, morfologia e distribuição de FGH por fluorescência direta; viabilidade celular por MTT; proliferação celular e expressão de proteínas citoesqueléticas: actina e tubulina e proteínas da matriz extracelular não colágena: fibronectina imunofluorescência indireta. Os dados quantitativos foram submetidos aos testes estatísticos de Friedman para comparação intra e intergrupos para as variáveis da análise de expressão das proteínas: fibronectina, actina e tubulina. O teste de Kruskal-Wallis foi utilizado para comparações intra e intergrupos, seguido do teste de Tukey para as variáveis das análises de viabidlidade, proliferação e número total de células. Resultados: A epifluorescência revelou que em 3 dias os FGH apresentavam-se aderidos em todos os grupos experimentais. FGH cultivados sobre ColB-2D exibiram forma menos alongada, ampla e achatada com maior quantidade de projeções e numerosas fibras de estresse em 3, 7 e 10 dias. Por outro lado, os FGH cultivados sobre ColB-3D e MCS-3D demonstraram, em todos os períodos experimentais, fenótipo fusiforme, alongado ou cilíndrico com menor quantidade de projeções do que observado no substrato 2D, com algumas das células cultivadas sobre MCS-3D demonstrando aspecto estrelado. O ensaio de MTT revelou viabilidade celular significantemente superior no ColB-2D e MCS-3D do que no ColB-3D (p<0,001), em todos os períodos experimentais. Em 3 dias, foi observado maior número de FGH cultivados sobre ColB-2D seguido por MCS-3D e ColB-3D respectivamente, havendo diferença estatística entre ColB-2D e MCS-3D (p<0,001) e entre ColB-2D e ColB-3D (p<0,001). No sétimo dia houve redução no número de células no ColB-2D e aumento na MCS-3D e ColB-3D, em que o número de células foi significantemente superior no ColB-2d com relação a MCS-3D (p=0,002). Ao final do período experimental, foi observado aumento no número de células em todos os grupos experimentais, sendo o número de células, mais uma vez, significantemente superior no ColB-2D do que na MCS-3D (p=0,002). Maior porcentagem de FGH no ciclo celular pode ser observado em ColB-2D seguido por ColB-3D e MCS-3D, respectivamente, em todos os períodos experimentais. Na MCS-3D praticamente não houve marcação por Ki-67 e o ColB-2D apresentou redução significativa de FGH ciclando entre o período de 3 e 10 dias (p=0,036). A expressão de proteínas não colágenas e citoesqueléticas foi similar em ambas as matrizes experimentais durante todo o estudo. Conclusão: Podemos concluir que a MCS-3D constitui uma matriz adequada para o cultivo de fibroblastos gengivais humanos, uma vez que, no interior da matriz, importantes propriedades foram verificadas, dentre as quais, morfologia, proliferação, e expressão de proteínas, semelhantes a uma matriz colágena tridimensional já consagrada na literatura. / Introduction: Gingival fibroblasts play a central role in oral soft tissue regeneration. Mucograft® (PCM-3D) is a new xenogeneic substitute that has been used in periodontics in techniques such as root coverage and increasing keratinized tissue. The aim of this investigation was to verify if PCM-3D is a suitable three-dimensional matrix though its in vitro response to the culture of HGF. Methods: Human gingival fibroblasts (HGF) culture was established by the explant technique of gingival connective tissues of three healthy patients. HGF were seeded on bidimensional bovine collagen matrix (BCol-2D), three-dimensional bovine collagen matrix (BCol- 3D) and three-dimensional porcine collagen matrix (PCM-3D). HGF were grown for up to 10 days. At 3, 7 and 10 days the following parameters were assessed: HGF number, morphology and distribution by direct fluorescence; cell viability by MTT; cell proliferation and expression of proteins of the extracellular matrix non-collagenous fibronectina and cytoeskeletic - proteins actin and tubulin by indirect immunofluorescence. Quantitative data were submitted to Friedman and Kruskal- Wallis test, and the last one was followed by Tukeys test. Results: Epifluorescence revealed that at 3 days HGF grown on BCol-2D were broader, more flattened and had more cell protrusions and stress fibers in all experimental times. On the other hand, HGF seeded on BCol-3D and PCM-3D displayed a spindle-shaped, elongated, or cylindrical phenotype with fewer protrusions as well as less total cell spread area than on the 2D matrix, with some cells on PCM-3D showing stellate appearance. MTT assay showed cell viability higher in cultures grown on BCol-2D and PCM-3D than in BCol-3D (p<0,001). At 3days a greater number of cells in BCol-2D samples followed by PCM-3D and BCol-3D, respectively, was observed with statistical difference between BCol-2D and PCM-3D and between (p<0,001). At 7 days, there was a decrease in cell number grown on BCol-2D and an increase in BCol-3D and PCM-3D, where the number of cells were significantly higher in BCol-2D in relation to PCM-3D (p=0.002). At the end of the experimental period, there was an increase in total cell number in all of the experimental groups, and it was again significantly greater in BCol-2D than in PCM (p=0.005). Between 3 and 10 days, there was an increase in total cell number in ColB-3D (p<0.001), which showed higher counts within 10 days. Higher percentage of HGF in the cell cycle could be seen in BCol-2D followed by BCol-3D and PCM-3D, respectively, in all of the experimental groups. In PCM-3D there was almost no expression of Ki-67. BCol-2D showed a decrease in HGF cycling between 3 and 10 days (p=0,036). The expression of non-collagenous and cytoskeletal proteins were similar in both matrices during all the period of the study. Conclusion: PCM-3D is suitable for HGF culture, since, within the matrix, important properties were found, among them, morphology, proliferation andprotein expression, similar to those observed in a 3D collagen matrix well established in the literature.

Introdução: Fibroblastos gengivais desempenham um importante papel na regeneração de tecidos moles de proteção. Mucograft® (MCS-3D) é um substituto xenógeno novo que vem sendo utilizado na periodontia em técnicas de recobrimento radicular e aumento de tecido queratinizado. O objetivo do presente estudo foi avaliar morfológica e imunohistoquimicamente, se a MCS-3D é uma matriz tridimensional adequada, por meio de sua resposta à cultura de fibroblastos gengivais. Material e Métodos: Fibroblastos gengivais humanos (FGH) foram obtidos pela técnica do explante a partir de tecido conjuntivo gengival de três indivíduos. Os FGH foram cultivados sobre colágeno bovino bidimensional (ColB-2D), colágeno bovino tridimensional (ColB-3D) e matriz colágena suína tridimensional (MCS-3D) por até 10 dias. Em 3, 7 e 10 dias, os seguintes parâmetros foram avaliados: número, morfologia e distribuição de FGH por fluorescência direta; viabilidade celular por MTT; proliferação celular e expressão de proteínas citoesqueléticas: actina e tubulina e proteínas da matriz extracelular não colágena: fibronectina imunofluorescência indireta. Os dados quantitativos foram submetidos aos testes estatísticos de Friedman para comparação intra e intergrupos para as variáveis da análise de expressão das proteínas: fibronectina, actina e tubulina. O teste de Kruskal-Wallis foi utilizado para comparações intra e intergrupos, seguido do teste de Tukey para as variáveis das análises de viabidlidade, proliferação e número total de células. Resultados: A epifluorescência revelou que em 3 dias os FGH apresentavam-se aderidos em todos os grupos experimentais. FGH cultivados sobre ColB-2D exibiram forma menos alongada, ampla e achatada com maior quantidade de projeções e numerosas fibras de estresse em 3, 7 e 10 dias. Por outro lado, os FGH cultivados sobre ColB-3D e MCS-3D demonstraram, em todos os períodos experimentais, fenótipo fusiforme, alongado ou cilíndrico com menor quantidade de projeções do que observado no substrato 2D, com algumas das células cultivadas sobre MCS-3D demonstrando aspecto estrelado. O ensaio de MTT revelou viabilidade celular significantemente superior no ColB-2D e MCS-3D do que no ColB-3D (p<0,001), em todos os períodos experimentais. Em 3 dias, foi observado maior número de FGH cultivados sobre ColB-2D seguido por MCS-3D e ColB-3D respectivamente, havendo diferença estatística entre ColB-2D e MCS-3D (p<0,001) e entre ColB-2D e ColB-3D (p<0,001). No sétimo dia houve redução no número de células no ColB-2D e aumento na MCS-3D e ColB-3D, em que o número de células foi significantemente superior no ColB-2d com relação a MCS-3D (p=0,002). Ao final do período experimental, foi observado aumento no número de células em todos os grupos experimentais, sendo o número de células, mais uma vez, significantemente superior no ColB-2D do que na MCS-3D (p=0,002). Maior porcentagem de FGH no ciclo celular pode ser observado em ColB-2D seguido por ColB-3D e MCS-3D, respectivamente, em todos os períodos experimentais. Na MCS-3D praticamente não houve marcação por Ki-67 e o ColB-2D apresentou redução significativa de FGH ciclando entre o período de 3 e 10 dias (p=0,036). A expressão de proteínas não colágenas e citoesqueléticas foi similar em ambas as matrizes experimentais durante todo o estudo. Conclusão: Podemos concluir que a MCS-3D constitui uma matriz adequada para o cultivo de fibroblastos gengivais humanos, uma vez que, no interior da matriz, importantes propriedades foram verificadas, dentre as quais, morfologia, proliferação, e expressão de proteínas, semelhantes a uma matriz colágena tridimensional já consagrada na literatura. / Introduction: Gingival fibroblasts play a central role in oral soft tissue regeneration. Mucograft® (PCM-3D) is a new xenogeneic substitute that has been used in periodontics in techniques such as root coverage and increasing keratinized tissue. The aim of this investigation was to verify if PCM-3D is a suitable three-dimensional matrix though its in vitro response to the culture of HGF. Methods: Human gingival fibroblasts (HGF) culture was established by the explant technique of gingival connective tissues of three healthy patients. HGF were seeded on bidimensional bovine collagen matrix (BCol-2D), three-dimensional bovine collagen matrix (BCol- 3D) and three-dimensional porcine collagen matrix (PCM-3D). HGF were grown for up to 10 days. At 3, 7 and 10 days the following parameters were assessed: HGF number, morphology and distribution by direct fluorescence; cell viability by MTT; cell proliferation and expression of proteins of the extracellular matrix non-collagenous fibronectina and cytoeskeletic - proteins actin and tubulin by indirect immunofluorescence. Quantitative data were submitted to Friedman and Kruskal- Wallis test, and the last one was followed by Tukeys test. Results: Epifluorescence revealed that at 3 days HGF grown on BCol-2D were broader, more flattened and had more cell protrusions and stress fibers in all experimental times. On the other hand, HGF seeded on BCol-3D and PCM-3D displayed a spindle-shaped, elongated, or cylindrical phenotype with fewer protrusions as well as less total cell spread area than on the 2D matrix, with some cells on PCM-3D showing stellate appearance. MTT assay showed cell viability higher in cultures grown on BCol-2D and PCM-3D than in BCol-3D (p<0,001). At 3days a greater number of cells in BCol-2D samples followed by PCM-3D and BCol-3D, respectively, was observed with statistical difference between BCol-2D and PCM-3D and between (p<0,001). At 7 days, there was a decrease in cell number grown on BCol-2D and an increase in BCol-3D and PCM-3D, where the number of cells were significantly higher in BCol-2D in relation to PCM-3D (p=0.002). At the end of the experimental period, there was an increase in total cell number in all of the experimental groups, and it was again significantly greater in BCol-2D than in PCM (p=0.005). Between 3 and 10 days, there was an increase in total cell number in ColB-3D (p<0.001), which showed higher counts within 10 days. Higher percentage of HGF in the cell cycle could be seen in BCol-2D followed by BCol-3D and PCM-3D, respectively, in all of the experimental groups. In PCM-3D there was almost no expression of Ki-67. BCol-2D showed a decrease in HGF cycling between 3 and 10 days (p=0,036). The expression of non-collagenous and cytoskeletal proteins were similar in both matrices during all the period of the study. Conclusion: PCM-3D is suitable for HGF culture, since, within the matrix, important properties were found, among them, morphology, proliferation andprotein expression, similar to those observed in a 3D collagen matrix well established in the literature.

abstract: The pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), remain difficult to ascertain in part because animal models fail to fully recapitulate the complex pathophysiology of these diseases. In vitro models of neurodegenerative diseases generated with patient derived human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) and human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) could provide new insight into disease mechanisms. Although protocols to differentiate hiPSCs and hESCs to neurons have been established, standard practice relies on two dimensional (2D) cell culture systems, which do not accurately mimic the complexity and architecture of the in vivo brain microenvironment. I have developed protocols to generate 3D cultures of neurons from hiPSCs and hESCs, to provide more accurate models of AD. In the first protocol, hiPSC-derived neural progenitor cells (hNPCs) are plated in a suspension of Matrigel™ prior to terminal differentiation of neurons. In the second protocol, hiPSCs are forced into aggregates called embryoid bodies (EBs) in suspension culture and subsequently directed to the neural lineage through dual SMAD inhibition. Culture conditions are then changed to expand putative hNPC populations and finally differentiated to neuronal spheroids through activation of the tyrosine kinase pathway. The gene expression profiles of the 3D hiPSC-derived neural cultures were compared to fetal brain RNA. Our analysis has revealed that 3D neuronal cultures express high levels of mature pan-neuronal markers (e.g. MAP2, β3T) and neural transmitter subtype specific markers. The 3D neuronal spheroids also showed signs of neural patterning, similar to that observed during embryonic development. These 3D culture systems should provide a platform to probe disease mechanisms of AD and enable to generation of more advanced therapeutics. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Bioengineering 2016

Understanding the cellular response thermal stress is important for improving thermoablative treatments of cancer. Cells generally respond to thermal stress by expressing heat shock proteins, or undergoing cell death by apoptosis or necrosis. Most of our detailed knowledge regarding these cellular phenomena has been gathered in vitro in two dimensional (2D) environments. Yet, little is known about how prostate cancer cells respond to thermal stress in a more physiologically relevant three dimensional (3D) environment. Several approaches were used to investigate this question, all of which focused on controlled heating of cells in both two dimensional (2D) and 3D culture. Tools and assays were developed to investigate cellular response to thermal stress in 2D and 3D environments. A computer-controlled heating apparatus was constructed to heat cell cultures to precise temperatures and durations. Three dimensional growth environments were produced using Matrigel, a commercially available extracellular matrix (ecm) mixture. Transcriptional expression of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) was measured using a green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter gene under the control of an HSP promoter. Apoptosis, necrosis and HSP70 transcription was measured using flow cytometry analysis. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and microscopy revealed that transmembrane targets may be involved in the mechanism of the effect which 3D culture has on the cellular response to heat shock. The results herein demonstrate that the 3D growth environment, may be protective to the cell in that the percentage of cells that undergo apoptosis or necrosis when exposed to heat shock are reduced. Furthermore, HSP70 expression is enhanced in 3D culture at a specific thermal dose and integrins and heat shock proteins may be part of the mechanism by which the ecm exerts its protective effect against thermal stress. / text

The entorhinal cortex (EC) in the medial temporal lobe plays a critical role in memory formation and is implicated in several neurological diseases including temporal lobe epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease. Despite the known importance of this brain region, little is known about the normal bioelectrical activity patterns of the EC in awake, behaving primates. In order to develop effective therapies for diseases affecting the EC, we must first understand its normal properties. To contribute to our understanding of the EC, I monitored the activity of individual neurons and populations of neurons in the EC of rhesus macaque monkeys during free-viewing of photographs using electrophysiological techniques. The results of these experiments help to explain how primates can form memories of, and navigate through, the visual world. These experiments revealed neurons in the EC that represent visual space with triangular grid receptive fields and other neurons that prefer to fire near image borders. These properties are similar to those previously described in the rodent EC, but here the neuronal responses relate to viewing of remote space as opposed to representing the physical location of the animal. The representation of visual space may be aided by another EC neuron type that was discovered, free-viewing saccade direction cells, neurons that signaled the direction of upcoming saccades. Such a signal could be used by other cells to prepare to fire according to the future gaze location. Many of these spatially-responsive neurons also represented memory for images, suggesting that they may be useful for associating items with their locations. I also examined the neuronal circuitry of recognition memory for visual stimuli in the EC, and I found that population synchronization within the gamma-band (30-140 Hz) in superficial layers of the EC was modulated by stimulus novelty, while the strength of memory formation modulated gamma-band synchronization in the deep layers and in layer III. Furthermore, the strength of connectivity in the gamma-band between different layers was correlated with the strength of memory formation, with deep to superficial power transfer being correlated with stronger memory formation and superficial to deep transfer correlated with weaker memory formation. These findings support several previous investigations of hippocampal-entorhinal connectivity in the rodent and advance our understanding of the functional circuitry of the medial temporal lobe memory system. Finally, I explored the design of a device that could be used to investigate properties of brain tissue in vitro, potentially aiding in the development of treatments for disorders of the EC and other brain structures. We designed, fabricated, and validated a novel device for long-term maintenance of thick brain slices and 3-dimensional dissociated cell cultures on a perforated multi-electrode array. To date, most electrical recordings of thick tissue preparations have been performed by manually inserting electrode arrays. This work demonstrates a simple and effective solution to this problem by building a culture perfusion chamber around a planar perforated multi-electrode array. By making use of interstitial perfusion, the device maintained the thickness of tissue constructs and improved cellular survival as demonstrated by increased firing rates of perfused slices and 3-D cultures, compared to unperfused controls. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first thick tissue culture device to combine forced interstitial perfusion for long-term tissue maintenance and an integrated multi-electrode array for electrical recording and stimulation.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Although rare, classification of over 200 hereditary cancer susceptibility syndromes accounting for ~5-10% of cancer incidence has enabled the discovery and understanding of cancer predisposition genes that are also frequently mutated in sporadic cancers. The need to prevent or delay invasive cancer can partly be addressed by characterization of cells derived from healthy individuals predisposed to cancer due to inherited "single-hits" in genes in order to develop patient-derived samples as preclinical models for mechanistic in vitro studies. Here, we present microarray-based transcriptome profiling of Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS) patient-derived unaffected breast epithelial cells and their phenotypic characterization as in vitro three-dimensional (3D) models to test pharmacological agents. In this study, the epithelial cells derived from the unaffected breast tissue of a LFS patient were cultured and progressed from non-neoplastic to a malignant stage by successive immortalization and transformation steps followed by growth in athymic mice. These cell lines exhibited distinct transcriptomic profiles and were readily distinguishable based upon their gene expression patterns, growth characteristics in monolayer and in vitro 3D cultures. Transcriptional changes in the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition gene signature contributed to the unique phenotypes observed in 3D culture for each cell line of the progression series; the fully transformed LFS cells exhibited invasive processes in 3D culture with disorganized morphologies due to cell-cell miscommunication, as seen in breast cancer. Bioinformatics analysis of the deregulated genes and pathways showed inherent differences between these cell lines and targets for pharmacological agents. After treatment with small molecule APR-246 that restores normal function to mutant p53, we observed that the neoplastic LFS cells had reduced malignant invasive structure formation from 73% to 9%, as well as an observance of an increase in formation of well-organized structures in 3D culture (from 27% to 91%) by stereomicroscopy and confocal microscopy. Therefore, the use of well-characterized and physiologically relevant preclinical models in conjunction with transcriptomic profiling of high-risk patient derived samples as a renewable laboratory resource can potentially guide the development of safer and more effective chemopreventive approaches.

Animal testing is still the common method to test the efficacy of new drugs, but tissue engineered in vitro models are becoming more acceptable for replacing and reducing animal testing in anti-cancer drug screening by developing in vitro three-dimensional (3D) tumour models for anti-cancer drug testing. In this study, three-dimensional (3D) culture methods were developed to mimic the tumour microenvironment. 3D culturing is to seed, maintain and expand cultured cells in three-dimensional space, in contrast to the traditional two-dimensional (2D) method in which the cells attach to the bottom of culture containers as monolayers. To mimic the intercellular interplay for tumour study, cell co-culture was applied. In this thesis, perfusion culture showed a better homeostasis for 3D tumour model growth over 17 days, with a more controllable working platform and a more reliable response-dose correlation for data interpretation. In the Matrigel sandwich system, the co-culture of breast cancer cells and endothelial cells demonstrated the morphology featuring a vascular network and tumour structures, with the thickness of the three-dimensional structure around 100µm and tubule length 200-400 µm, and maintained for 10 days. The comparisons studies between Matrigel sandwich and other methods suggest that though not fully characterised, Matrigel is still a valuable scaffold choice for developing co-culture 3D tumour model. Finally, the combination of perfusion and co-culture showed the potential of applying this model in angiogenesis assay, with a drug response profile combining cell viability and morphology to mimic in vivo tumour physiology.

A biodiversidade de plantas brasileiras é uma fonte muito rica de moléculas bioativas, dentro da proposta da busca por novas drogas antitumorais, avaliamos neste estudo o potencial antiproliferativo do composto 7-epi-clusianona. Foram utilizadas duas linhagens celulares derivadas de tumor de mama humana, Hs 578T e MCF-7, cultivadas em monocamada e como esferoides. O IC50 após 48 horas de tratamento das células é de 20 &mu;M para Hs 578T e 6 &mu;M para MCF-7. A análise do ciclo celular mostrou que o composto é capaz de reter as células em fase G1/G0 em ambas as linhagens em 2D, mas não em 3D. O composto é capaz de induzir as células a senescência celular, como mostrado pelo ensaio de detecção de &beta;-galactosidase. Esses dados indicam que o composto 7-epi-clusianona é uma molécula promissora, que demonstrou potencial antitumoral em células de tumor de mama. A cultura tridimensional se mostrou mais resistente ao tratamento com 7-epi-clusianona, portanto estudos mais abrangentes são necessários para melhor entendimento dos efeitos do composto sobre esse tipo de cultura. / Brazilian flora is considered one of the most diverse in the world and natural products are some of the important sources of new antitumoral compounds. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antiproliferative potential of 7-epi-clusianone. Two cell lines derived from human breast tumor were used, Hs 578T and MCF-7, cultured in monolayer and as spheroids. The IC50 after 48 hours of treatment is 20 &mu;M to Hs 578T cells and 6 &mu;M to MCF-7 cells. Cell cycle analysis showed induction of cell cycle arrest in G1/S phase in cells cultured in monolayers, but not in spheroids. The amount of cells in senescence after the treatment with 7-epi-clusianone is higher than the control group, as seen by the senescence &beta;-galactosidase staining assay. These data suggest that 7-epi-clusianone is a promising molecule against breast cancer cells. We show that 3D culture was more resistant to treatment than 2D culture, therefore more comprehensive studies are needed to better understand the effects of 7-epi-clusianone on this kind of culture.

A biodiversidade de plantas brasileiras é uma fonte muito rica de moléculas bioativas, dentro da proposta da busca por novas drogas antitumorais, avaliamos neste estudo o potencial antiproliferativo do composto 7-epi-clusianona. Foram utilizadas duas linhagens celulares derivadas de tumor de mama humana, Hs 578T e MCF-7, cultivadas em monocamada e como esferoides. O IC50 após 48 horas de tratamento das células é de 20 &mu;M para Hs 578T e 6 &mu;M para MCF-7. A análise do ciclo celular mostrou que o composto é capaz de reter as células em fase G1/G0 em ambas as linhagens em 2D, mas não em 3D. O composto é capaz de induzir as células a senescência celular, como mostrado pelo ensaio de detecção de &beta;-galactosidase. Esses dados indicam que o composto 7-epi-clusianona é uma molécula promissora, que demonstrou potencial antitumoral em células de tumor de mama. A cultura tridimensional se mostrou mais resistente ao tratamento com 7-epi-clusianona, portanto estudos mais abrangentes são necessários para melhor entendimento dos efeitos do composto sobre esse tipo de cultura. / Brazilian flora is considered one of the most diverse in the world and natural products are some of the important sources of new antitumoral compounds. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antiproliferative potential of 7-epi-clusianone. Two cell lines derived from human breast tumor were used, Hs 578T and MCF-7, cultured in monolayer and as spheroids. The IC50 after 48 hours of treatment is 20 &mu;M to Hs 578T cells and 6 &mu;M to MCF-7 cells. Cell cycle analysis showed induction of cell cycle arrest in G1/S phase in cells cultured in monolayers, but not in spheroids. The amount of cells in senescence after the treatment with 7-epi-clusianone is higher than the control group, as seen by the senescence &beta;-galactosidase staining assay. These data suggest that 7-epi-clusianone is a promising molecule against breast cancer cells. We show that 3D culture was more resistant to treatment than 2D culture, therefore more comprehensive studies are needed to better understand the effects of 7-epi-clusianone on this kind of culture.