title: Morphologic effects of estrogen stimulation on 3D MCF-7 microtissues.
abstract: In the development of human cell-based assays, 3-dimensional (3D) cell culture models are intriguing as they are able to bridge the gap between animal models and traditional two-dimensional (2D) cell culture. Previous work has demonstrated that MCF-7 human breast carcinoma cells cultured in a 3D scaffold-free culture system self-assemble and develop into differentiated microtissues that possess a luminal space. Exposure to estradiol for 7 days decreased lumen formation in MCF-7 microtissues, altered microtissue morphology and altered expression of genes involved in estrogen signaling, cell adhesion and cell cycle regulation. Exposure to receptor-specific agonists for estrogen receptor alpha, estrogen receptor beta and g-protein coupled estrogen receptor resulted in unique, receptor-specific phenotypes and gene expression signatures. The use of a differentiated scaffold-free 3D culture system offers a unique opportunity to study the phenotypic and molecular changes associated with exposure to estrogenic compounds.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, 70 Ship Street, Brown University, Providence, RI 02903, USA.
authors.forename: Marguerite M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Vantangoli
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, 70 Ship Street, Brown University, Providence, RI 02903, USA.
authors.forename: Shelby
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, 70 Ship Street, Brown University, Providence, RI 02903, USA.
authors.forename: Samantha J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Madnick
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, 70 Ship Street, Brown University, Providence, RI 02903, USA.
authors.forename: Susan M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Huse
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, 70 Ship Street, Brown University, Providence, RI 02903, USA. Electronic address: Kim_Boekelheide@brown.edu.
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Boekelheide
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha / Q000819:agonists / Q000235:genetics*; D047629:Estrogen Receptor beta / Q000819:agonists / Q000235:genetics*; D004967:Estrogens / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D061986:MCF-7 Cells; D059467:Transcriptome
chemical_list: D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha; D047629:Estrogen Receptor beta; D004967:Estrogens
keywords: Estrogens; In vitro assays; Morphology; Morphometrics; Three-dimensional models