3D Intercellular Assembly of Decellularized Matrix Recapitulates In Vivo Tumor Heterogeneity

The tumor microenvironment consists of resident tumor cells organized within a compositionally diverse, three-dimensional (3D) extracellular matrix (ECM) network that cannot be replicated in vitro using bottom-up synthesis. We report a new self-assembly system to engineer ECM-rich 3D MatriSpheres wherein tumor cells actively organize and concentrate microgram quantities of decellularized ECM dispersions which modulate cell phenotype. 3D colorectal cancer (CRC) MatriSpheres were created using decellularized small intestine submucosa (SIS) as an orthotopic ECM source that had greater proteomic homology to CRC tumor ECM than traditional ECM formulations such as Matrigel. SIS ECM was rapidly concentrated from its environment and assembled into ECM-rich 3D stroma-like regions by mouse and human CRC cell lines within 4-5 days via a mechanism that was rheologically distinct from bulk hydrogel formation. Both ECM organization and transcriptional regulation by 3D ECM cues affected programs of malignancy, lipid metabolism, and immunoregulation that corresponded with an in vivo MC38 tumor cell subpopulation identified via single cell RNA sequencing. This 3D modeling approach stimulates tumor specific tissue morphogenesis that incorporates the complexities of both cancer cell and ECM compartments in a scalable, spontaneous assembly process that may further facilitate precision medicine. MatriSpheres (SIS ECM) and traditional cells alone spheroids (CA) (n = 5-6/group) generated from mouse (MC38, CT26) and human (HT-29) colorectal cell lines and cultured for 7 days. RNA was isolated at day 7 and sent for Bulk RNA Sequencing. The intercellular role of the ECM biomaterial (decellularized SIS ECM) on cancer cells within the 3D MatriSpheres were evaluated based upon their transcriptome profiles when compared to traditional cells alone spheroids.