Development of model tumor in vitro using bacterial nanocellulose

The aim of this work was to study the behavior of FaDu cells in contact with 2D substrates (pellicles) of BNC and to develop a 3D method to create a model of hypopharyngeal squamous carcinoma by means of BNC/alginate porous sponges. In this perspective, cells were seeded on uncoated scaffolds either as cell suspension or embedded in a 1:1 mixture of medium and Matrigel, and on scaffold pre-coated with collagen I. Nanocellulose was used also in the form of hollow tubes, filled with cell suspension and Matrigel and cultured in a stirrer flask. To create a model better resembling reality, the FaDu cells were also co-cultured with Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVECs), with the expectation to observe angigogenic effects on these. The sponges seeded with Matrigel showed a higher number of cells grown inside them compared to the other seeding techniques and the gel gave good results also with the cellulose tubes. On the other hand, the co-culture gave results not as great as expected but the experiment can be improved by culturing the two cell type together for a longer time. This study shows that BNC can be used to grow in vitro 3D tumor to be used in screening of cancer therapies