2D- and 3D-cell culture

Abstract

The cultivation of mammalian cells in three-dimensional conditions acquires a priority in a variety of biomedical applications. In the areas of toxicology and anticancer drug development it concerns a significant difference of responses to proapoptotic factors of the cells cultured in 2D versus 3D environment. Besides, the clear-cut differences have been found in cell polarity, cytoskeleton structure, distribution of receptors to wide range of hormones, growth factors, etc. in mammalian cells depending on culture conditions. It is resulted in different response of cultured cells to extracellular stimuli. Multicellular spheroids are regarded presently as the most convenient model of solid tumour growth in vitro. The cultivation of thyroid follicles, mammary acini and other structure units, maintaining initial tissue organization, allows studying the behavior, biochemical features and gene profile of differentiated cells. On the other hand, 3D cultures have some limitations in comparison with a well established monolayer culture. The advantages and disadvantages of each type of cultures and their application in biological and medical researches will be discussed in this review.