In vitro irradiation system for radiobiological experiments

Radiation Oncology

Rolando Polico¹  Elisabetta Parisi¹  Antonino Romeo¹  Vincenzo D’Errico²  Wainer Zoli⁵  Rosella Silvestrini⁵  Mirella Falconi⁴  Sara Pignatta⁵  Elisa Gabucci⁵  Laura Medri³  Enrico Menghi²  Chiara Arienti⁵  Anna Sarnelli²  Anna Tesei⁵ 

[1] Radiotherapy Unit, Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Meldola, FC, Italy;Medical Physics Unit, Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Meldola, FC, Italy;Pathology Unit, Morgagni-Pierantoni Hospital, Forlì, FC, Italy;Department of Human Anatomy and Physiopathology of the Locomotor Apparatus, University of Bologna (BO), Bologna, BO, Italy;Biosciences Laboratory, Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Biosciences Laboratory, via P. Maroncelli 40, 47014, Meldola, FC, Italy

关键词: Cancer cell lines;    In vitro experiments;    Radiobiology;    3-D cultures;   

Others  :  1152536
DOI  :  10.1186/1748-717X-8-257

 received in 2013-06-10, accepted in 2013-10-30,  发布年份 2013

【 摘 要 】

Background

Although two-dimensional (2-D) monolayer cell cultures provide important information on basic tumor biology and radiobiology, they are not representative of the complexity of three-dimensional (3-D) solid tumors. In particular, new models reproducing clinical conditions as closely as possible are needed for radiobiological studies to provide information that can be translated from bench to bedside.

Methods

We developed a novel system for the irradiation, under sterile conditions, of 3-D tumor spheroids, the in vitro model considered as a bridge between the complex architectural organization of in vivo tumors and the very simple one of in vitro monolayer cell cultures. The system exploits the same equipment as that used for patient treatments, without the need for dedicated and highly expensive instruments. To mimic the passage of radiation beams through human tissues before they reach the target tumor mass, 96-multiwell plates containing the multicellular tumor spheroids (MCTS) are inserted into a custom-built phantom made of plexiglass, the material most similar to water, the main component of human tissue.

Results

The system was used to irradiate CAEP- and A549-derived MCTS, pre-treated or not with 20 μM cisplatin, with a dose of 20 Gy delivered in one session. We also tested the same treatment schemes on monolayer CAEP and A549 cells. Our preliminary results indicated a significant increment in radiotoxicity 20 days after the end of irradiation in the CAEP spheroids pre-treated with cisplatin compared to those treated with cisplatin or irradiation alone. Conversely, the effect of the radio- chemotherapy combination in A549-derived MCTS was similar to that induced by cisplatin or irradiation alone. Finally, the 20 Gy dose did not affect cell survival in monolayer CAEP and A549 cells, whereas cisplatin or cisplatin plus radiation caused 100% cell death, regardless of the type of cell line used.

Conclusions

We set up a system for the irradiation, under sterile conditions, of tumor cells grown in 3-D which allows for the use of the same dose intensities and schedules utilized in clinical practice. This irradiation system, coupled with 3-D cell cultures, has the potential to generate information that could be used to individually tailor radiotherapy.

【 授权许可】

   
2013 Tesei et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

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