Investigating Glioblastoma Angiogenesis Using A 3D in Vitro GelMA Microwell Platform

Abstract

Angiogenesis is an indispensable mechanism in physiological and pathological development of tumors that requires an adequate blood supply. Therefore, understanding the angiogenesis mechanism of tumors has become an important research area to develop reliable and effective therapies for the treatment of tumors. Although several in vivo and in vitro models were developed and used to study the underlying mechanism of angiogenesis, they showed limited success. Therefore, there is an urgent need to build a stable and cost-effective three-dimensional (3D) in vitro angiogenesis model to investigate the tumor formation. In this study, we designed a 3D in vitro angiogenesis model based on gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) hydrogel microwells to mimic an in vivo-like microenvironment for co-cultured glioblastoma and endothelial cells. Our results confirmed the in vitro formation of microtubules during the angiogenic process. We believe that our cost-effective platform can be used for the high-throughput screening of anti-angiogenesis drugs and even for the development of better treatment strategies.