fig7

Figure 7. The tumor microenvironment may affect cancer cell properties and drug sensitivity/resistance. Scaffolds of cancer tissues were prepared by decellularization. Human colorectal cancer cells, HT-29, were inoculated on the resultant scaffolds to form 2D or 3D cultures of HT-29 cells. HT-29 cells in the 3D culture systems were created using scaffolds from healthy liver or colorectal cancer liver metastasis tissue, which showed overall resistance compared to 2D-cultured HT-29 cells. 3D-HT-29 cells on CRLM scaffolds were resistant to 5-fluorouracil. PBMC: Peripheral blood mononuclear cell; CRLM: colorectal cancer liver metastasis; HL: healthy liver; 5-FU: 5-fluorouracil; TGF-β: transforming growth factor-β; IL-10: interleukin-10; Treg: regulatory T cell.