Bones made of gel: researchers observe how breast cancer spreads

Bone made of gel - reproduced in the laboratory

The heart of the research is a combination of two special gel materials. The first gel has wafer-thin pores. They are so fine that only individual molecules can pass through. It contains the cancer cells and mimics soft body tissue. The second gel has coarser pores and imitates the structure of bone tissue. It can also be provided with bone-like minerals, similar to those found in human bone. Cancer cells can migrate between the two areas.

Under the microscope, the team investigated how differently aggressive breast cancer cells penetrate this bone gel. This revealed that a messenger substance called SDF-1, a signaling substance that is particularly common in bone tissue, attracts cancer cells, promotes their survival and supports their penetration into the bone model. The bone-like mineral structures significantly altered this behavior. They weakened certain attractants such as SDF-1 and at the same time influenced the gene activity of the cancer cells, i.e. the question of which programs are switched on in the cell. Particularly aggressive cancer cells developed characteristics that are associated with increased adaptability and invasiveness.