BioSilk 3D Invasivity Assay: Probing Caveolin-1's Role in Prostate Cancer Progression
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| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Description | Prostate cancer remains a significant health challenge, with metastasis being a primary cause of mortality. Understanding the molecular mechanisms driving cancer cell invasion is critical for developing effective therapeutic strategies. This study investigates the role of Caveolin-1 (Cav-1) in the invasivity of prostate cancer cell lines using the BioSilk 3D invasivity assay, a novel tool that closely mimics the tumor microenvironment. We focused on two prostate cancer cell lines, PC-3 and 22Rv1, with manipulated Cav-1 expression levels. Specifically, we compared the invasivity of PC-3 wild-type (WT) cells to PC-3 cells with Cav-1 knockout (KO) and 22Rv1 WT cells to 22Rv1 cells with Cav-1 overexpression (OE). The BioSilk scaffold, derived from recombinant spider silk protein, provides a biomimetic extracellular matrix that enables a realistic evaluation of tumor cell behavior within a controlled 3D environment. While 3D imaging of such biomimetic materials poses significant challenges, particularly due to the complexity and size of the samples, we initially employed confocal microscopy. However, this technique presented limitations, particularly in terms of sample dimensions and penetration depth. To overcome these constraints, we optimized the BioSilk 3D invasivity assay for light-sheet microscopy, which offers enhanced imaging capabilities and deeper tissue penetration, allowing for more comprehensive visualization of cell behavior within the 3D scaffold. Our preliminary results indicate that Cav-1 significantly influences the invasivity of prostate cancer cells. PC-3 Cav-1 KO cells displayed reduced invasivity compared to their WT counterparts, suggesting that Cav-1 plays a crucial role in promoting invasion in this cell line. Conversely, 22Rv1 cells with Cav-1 OE exhibited decreased invasivity relative to WT cells, highlighting Cav-1's contradictory role in prostate cancer progression. The BioSilk assay, now optimized for advanced imaging techniques, proved to be an effective model for studying cell invasion, providing valuable insights into the tumor microenvironment's role in cancer progression. Our findings underscore the importance of Cav-1 in modulating invasivity in prostate cancer, offering a potential target for therapeutic intervention. |