Quantitative study of tumor angiogenesis in three-dimensional matrigel barrier using electric impedance measurement technique

Tumor angiogenesis refers to the development of new blood vessels in tumors and is a vital indicator of cancer metastasis which is the major cause of cancer-related deaths. Study of tumor angiogenesis is critical for the development of potential therapeutic strategies of suppressing cancer metastasis. In the current work, a microfluidic device has been developed and was composed of 2 reservoirs connecting with a Matrigel-filled microchannel. The microchannel was mimicked as a biological barrier and embedded with measurement microelectrodes. New blood vessels were successfully induced to extend along the microchannel. Meanwhile, real-time impedance measurement was conducted to quantitatively monitor the tumor angiogenesis process. The results revealed the extension speed of new blood vessels was proportional to chemical induction level, i.e., VEGF165 concentration. Moreover, tumor angiogenesis was shown to be induced by the VEGF released from cancer cells and significantly correlated to the number of cancer cells. In addition, anti-VEGF suppressor was quantitatively evaluated to study the suppression efficacy of tumor angiogenesis. The current microfluidic device provides a promising tool to study tumor angiogenesis in 3D biological barrier. The impedance technique offers reliable and quantitative evidences for evaluating drug efficacy. Development of tumor angiogenesis analytical platform can potentially lead to develop novel therapeutic strategies of suppressing cancer metastasis.