Fibroblast Activation Validated Solution Data Sheet
Overview
Accelerate the development of therapies targeting fibroblast activity.
Fibroblast cells are ubiquitous and play essential roles within the tissue microenvironment, particularly through their function in extracellular matrix, ECM, remodelling. Activation of fibroblasts by growth factors, interaction with ECM, or contact with other cell types triggers phenotypic changes that drive the production of ECM components such as collagen. In solid cancers, fibroblast activation and consequent remodelling of ECM can modulate tumor cell biology and inhibit the efficacy of drug treatments, including immunotherapies. Relevant cell culture models are therefore needed to interrogate fibroblast mechanisms of activation and ECM remodelling. Although fibroblasts can be cultured in 2D, these models fail to recapitulate the in vivo ECM, and fibroblasts rapidly lose their naive features and become activated in an uncontrolled manner. These limitations are addressed by culturing fibroblasts in 3D cell models where controlled environments do not naturally activate them.
Context of use
- Create 3D mono-culture fibroblast models with in vivo-like network morphologies that maintain fibroblasts in a non-activated state
- Study fibroblast activation via addition of TGF-β, and assess strategies to perturb this activation status
- Develop 3D co-cultures of cancer cells and fibroblasts to model tumor microenvironment-like interactions