Adaptable alginate-based microfibers for 3D in vitro cultures of cancer cells: an anticancer drug testing model

The slow advance in anticancer drug development can be attributed to the limitations of conventional models, predominantly monolayer cell (2D) cultures and animal models, which inadequately recapitulate the complex nature of human malignant tumors. Three-dimensional (3D) in vitro models are invaluable tools in drug screening; however, creating a universal model for all cancer types poses challenges due to the diverse nature of cancers. The aim of this work was to develop a single, versatile model using alginate microfibers to accommodate cultivation of various cancer cells

A 3D in vitro cell culture model based on perfused bone-like scaffolds for healthy and pathological bone research

Comprehensive research, particularly in evaluating drug efficacy, still heavily relies on the results obtained by the utilization of cell monolayers and animals. However, the inherent limitations of these models such as their physiological disparities from humans pose significant obstacles to acquiring reliable results thus impeding further scientific progression. To address this challenge, 3D in vitro cell culture models emerged as physiologically relevant models having the potential to enhance research and drug discovery. Our study aimed to develop a 3D in vitro cell culture model based on bone-like scaffolds in conjunction with a perfusion bioreactor (“3D Perfuse”, Innovation Center FTM, Belgrade, Serbia) for studying both physiological and pathological (i.e. tumors) bone conditions

Horizon 2020 projects, PREMUROSA, PANBioRA and ExcellMater, successfully organised a session at the TERMIS2021 World Congress

Three Horizon 2020 projects: "PANBioRA: Personalised and generalised integrated biomaterial risk assessment", MSCA ITN project "PREMUROSA Precision medicine for musculoskeletal regeneration, prosthetics, and active ageing", and "ExcellMater: Twinning to excel materials engineering for medical devices" jointly organised a very successful session entitled: "Strategies to enhance musculoskeletal regeneration: from bench to bedside" at the 6th world congress of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS2021). The session provided a comprehensive insight into the strategies for musculoskeletal regeneration, and it was a source of information on the latest achievements in the area thanks to the renowned speakers. Besides participants in the projects organising the session, many other researchers were attracted to the session, which is a key benchmark that the topic was interesting and relevant. In general, this session was a successful outcome of the collaboration among Horizon 2020 projects and at the same time, encouragement for similar activities to be organised in the future. Here, a short overview of the session is presented

Biomechanical Aspects in Bone Tumor Engineering

In the past decades, anticancer drug development brought the field of tumor engineering to a new level by the need of robust test systems. Simulating tumor microenvironment in vitro remains a challenge, and osteosarcoma—the most common primary bone cancer—is no exception. The growing evidence points to the inevitable connection between biomechanical stimuli and tumor chemosensitivity and aggressiveness, thus making this component of the microenvironment a mandatory requirement to the developed models. In this review, we addressed the question: is the “in vivo - in vitro” gap in osteosarcoma engineering bridged from the perspective of biomechanical stimuli? The most notable biomechanical cues in the tumor cell microenvironment are observed and compared in the contexts of in vivo conditions and engineered three-dimensional in vitro models

Student profiles of physical activity, screen time, sleep quality and dietary habits and their association with mental health and school satisfaction:An exploratory study

The interrelated nature of mental health and indicators of school success in children and adolescents has been under-investigated from a person-centered perspective. In this exploratory study, we examined patterns of health behavior in relation to mental health and school satisfaction. A convenience sample of 315 students (Mage = 11.39; SD = 2.045) from two British schools in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates participated in an online survey that included self-report measures of physical activity, screen time, sleep quality, dietary habits, mental health, and school satisfaction. Based on latent profile analysis, we identified four distinct health behavior profiles: high, low, average, and poor sleep and diet. Significant variation across profiles was evident for mental health subscores, age, and gender, although the results for gender were due to a high number of participants identifying as “other” or preferring not to say their gender. Profile membership was significantly associated with mental health and school satisfaction with students in the high health behavior profile reporting the highest scores on these outcomes. This study presents novel findings about students' health behaviors and school satisfaction and provides impetus for continuing research in this area of inquiry from a person-centered perspective

Development of a physiologically relevant 3D in vitro model for osteosarcoma cell cultivation comprising alginate composite scaffolds and a perfusion bioreactor system

Osteosarcoma is the most common type of bone cancer, which affects both children and adults. Treatment of osteosarcoma exhibits slow progress due to inadequacy of both in vivo animal models and 2D in vitro models regularly used for antitumor drug testing. Our approach is to create a physiologically relevant 3D in vitro model for osteosarcoma cell cultivation, which has the potential to overcome inherent weaknesses of 2D in vitro and animal models. In order to imitate native osteosarcoma microenvironment, macroporous alginate scaffolds with incorporated hydroxyapatite/β-tricalcium phosphate (HAp/β-TCP) powder were produced with two compositions: 1 wt% alginate, 1 wt% powder and 2 wt.% alginate, 2 wt% powder. Bioactivity and stability of the scaffolds were investigated under biomimetic conditions of continuous flow of the culture medium in perfusion bioreactor at the superficial medium velocity of 400 µm/s, which was reported in literature to be beneficial for osteogenesis. Scaffolds with the higher alginate concentration was shown to be more stable in the culture medium, since the scaffolds with the lower alginate concentration disintegrated after 5-7 days under flow conditions. Biocompatibility of the obtained scaffolds was investigated in short-term cultivation studies of murine osteosarcoma cells K7M2-wt seeded onto the scaffolds. The scaffolds were cultivated in perfusion bioreactors at the superficial flow velocity of 15 µm/s, while static cultures served as a control. After cultivation, osteosarcoma cells remained adhered to the scaffold surface, expressed metabolic activity and retained their initial proliferation ability while the flow was shown to positively affect the cultivated cells