Viscosity influence on human hepatoma tumor spheroids formation in core-shell alginate-carboxymethylcellulose microcapsules

Biomolecular and physical stimuli, such as stiffness and stress, of the extracellular environment, regulate collective cell dynamics and tissue patterning. The viscosity in the tumor microenvironment can increase due to the accumulation of macromolecules over time. Islands of rigid tumors are surrounded by soft cells that are more deformable than their healthy counterparts. Nonetheless, how the viscosities of the tumor microenvironment regulate collective cell spatial and temporal organization is not fully understood. Here, we used the human hepatoma (HepG2) cancer cells, the basic structural component of the liver, as an example to study the influence of viscosity (range from 0.8 cP to 15 cP) on cancer cell collective behavior in 3D microcapsules reactors. Alginate/Alginate-carboxymethylcellulose microcapsules (AL/AL-CMC MCs) with HepG2 cells were generated using a home-made high-throughput droplet-based microfluidic platform. Cell distribution, cell proliferation, spheroids growth, morphology change, and cytoskeleton difference were observed and quantified, showing a significant effect on viscosity change. Importantly, F-actin and keratin 8 intensity and distribution results can be a cue that viscosity increases enhancing the ability of cancer cells to squeeze through dense tissue. The results thus demonstrate that extracellular viscosity as an important physical cue regulates tumor development relevance to cancer biology.