Study of melanoma cell behavior in vitro in collagen functionalized bacterial nanocellulose hydrogels

Abstract

Melanoma is a type of cancer that develops from melanin-producing cells – the melanocytes. Melanoma has a low incidence, but a high mortality rate. This is because of its great ability to cause metastasis. This study aims to develop human melanoma cell spheroids (SK-MEL-28) and co-cultivate these spheroids with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in type I collagen-modified bacterial nanocellulose hydrogels (BNC-COL). The results presented here indicate that the presence of collagen in BNC-COL results in higher cell adhesion, when compared to pure bacterial nanocellulose (BNC). Human melanoma cells have demonstrated the ability to form tumor spheroids when cultured in agarose molds. The spheroids were then cultured in BNC-COL, together with HUVEC cells, for cell adhesion and migration assessment. The development of this platform has shown promise, especially for the screening of anticancer drugs.