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C02 | Biofabrication of a 3D model for the functional investigation of the stromal parameters on the behavior of breast cancer cells

This project aims at the biofabrication of a complex tumor-stroma model to specifically study the behavior of breast cancer cells as a function of stromal parameters. Using 3D bioprinting and bioinks with independently controllable physicochemical properties, the interactions of breast cancer and stromal cells will be investigated especially regarding correlations between cancer cell migration, protein secretion, and ECM remodeling. The modular approach allows us to recapitulate relevant aspects of the tumor microenvironment and to gain important mechanistic insights into how tumor-stroma interactions contribute to tumorigenesis.

Prof. Dr. Ben Fabry
Prof. Dr. Torsten Blunk

Sabrina Stecher

Previous academic education: Bachelor in Biochemistry (Ulm), Master in Biochemistry (Leipzig)
Academic Advisor within SFB TRR225: Prof. Dr. Torsten Blunk
Location: University Hospital Würzburg, Department of Trauma, Hand, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Topic of thesis: Biofabrication of 3D models for functional investigations of the effects of stromal parameters on the behavior of breast cancer cells
Main techniques and methodologies to be used: Bioprinting, 3D cell culture, immunohistochemistry, gene expression analysis and western blotting

Contact: Stecher_S@ukw.de

Franziska Dusi

Previous academic education: B. Sc. Molecular Life Science (Lübeck), M. Sc. Medical Immunoscience and Infection (Bonn)
Academic Advisor within SFB TRR225: Prof. Dr. Torsten Blunk
Location: University Hospital Würzburg, Department of Trauma, Hand, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Topic of thesis: Development of 3D Adipose Tissue-Tumor Models – Investigation of the Reciprocal Interactions of Adipocytes, Stem Cells, and Breast Cancer Cells
Main techniques and methodologies to be used: Co-culture, adipose tissue engineering,  Histology, gene expression analysis, ELISA

Contact: Dusi_F@ukw.de

Radik Gataulin

Previous academic education:  MD Medicine (Sechenov University, Russia), MSc Molecular Medicine (FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, Thesis: Polarization microscopy for label-free visualization of axons in the Xenopus laevis brain)
Academic Advisor within SFB TRR225: Prof. Dr. Ben Fabry
Location: Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Physics department, Biophysics Group
Topic of thesis: Modelling the cancer microenvironment using bio-fabrication technologies
Main techniques and methodologies to be used: 3D Cell Culture, 3D Bioprinting, Mechanical Characterization of Biomaterials, Migration assay

Contact: radik.gataulin@fau.de

2024

Cianciosi A, Pfeiffle M, Wohlfahrt P, Nürnberger S, Jungst T. Optical Fiber-Assisted Printing: A Platform Technology for Straightforward Photopolymer Resins Patterning and Freeform 3D Printing. bioRxiv, doi: 10.1101/2024.01.17.576081 (2024). (B09, C02)

Horder H, Böhringer D, Endrizzi N, Hildebrand LS, Cianciosi A, Stecher S, DusiF, Schweinitzer S, Watzling M, Groll J,  Jüngst T, Teßmar L, Bauer-Kreisel P, Fabry B, Torsten B. Cancer cell migration depends on adjacent ASC and adipose spheroids in a 3D bioprinted breast cancer model. Biofabrication doi: 10.1088/1758-5090/ad57f7 (2024). (C02, A01, A02, B09)

Kah D, Lell J, Wach T, Spörrer M, Dessalles CA, Wiedenmann S, Gerum RC, Vergarajauregui SL, Esser TU, Böhringer D, Engel FB, Thievessen I, Fabry B. Contractility of cardiac and skeletal muscle tissue increases with environmental stiffness. bioRxiv, doi: 10.1101/2024.02.23.581737 (2024). (A01, B08, C01, C02)

Türker E, Andrade Mier MS, Faber J, Padilla Padilla SJ, Murenu N, Stahlhut P, Lang G, Lamberger Z, Weigelt J, Schaefer N, Tessmar J, Strissel PL, Blunk T, Budday S, Strick R, Villmann C. Breast tumor cell survival and morphology in a brain-like extracellular matrix depends onmatrix composition and mechanical properties. Adv Biol doi: 10.1002/adbi.202400184. (2024) (A02, A07, B09, C02, C05)

2023

Böhringer D, Bauer A, Moravec I, Bischof L, Kah D, Mark C, Grundy TJ, Görlach E, Neill GMO, Budday S, Strissel P, Strick R, Malandrino A, Mak M, Rausch M, Fabry B. Fiber alignment in 3D collagen networks as a biophysical marker for cell contractility. Matrix Biology doi: 10.1016/j.matbio.2023.11.004 (2023). (A01, B09, C02, C05)

Czerwinski T, Bischof L, Böhringer D, Kara S, Wittmann E, Winterl A, Gerum R, Nusser G, Wiesinger M, Budday S, Lux A, Voskens C, Fabry B, Mark C, doi:10.1101/2023.04.20.537658  (2023). (A01, B09, C02)

Esser TU, Anspach A, Muenzebrock KA, Kah , Schrüfer S, Schenk J, Heinze KG, Schubert DW, Fabry B, Engel FB. Direct 3D-Bioprinting of hiPSC-derived Cardiomyocytes to Generate Functional Cardiac Tissues. Advanced Materials, doi: 10.1002/adma.202305911 (2023). (C01, Z02, A07, A01, C02)

Tesler AB, Kolle S, Prado LH, Thievessen I, Böhringer D, Backholm M, Karunakaran B, Nurmi HA, Latikka M, Fischer L, Stafslien S, Cenev ZM, Timonen JVI, Bruns M, Mazare A, Lohbauer U, Virtanen S, Fabry B, Schmuki P, Ras RHA, Aizenberg J, Goldmann WH. Long-term stability of aerophilic metallic surfaces underwater. Nature Materials doi: 10.1038/s41563-023-01670-6 (2023).        (A01, C02)

2022

Fischer L, Nosratlo M, Hast K, Karakaya E, Strohlein N, Esser T, Gerum RC, Richter S, Engel FB, Detsch R, Fabry B, Thievessen I, Calcium supplementation of bioinks reduces shear stress-induced cell damage during bioprinting, Biofabrication doi:10.1088/1758-5090/ac84af (2022). (A01, B06, C01, C02)

Hazur J, Endrizzi N, Schubert DW, Boccaccini AR, Fabry B, Stress relaxation amplitude of hydrogels determines migration, proliferation, and morphology of cells in 3-D culture, Biomater Sci, 10, 270-280  (2022). (A01, A07, C02)

Hauptstein J, Forster L, Nadernezhad A, Horder H, Stahlhut P, Groll J, Blunk T, Teßmar J, Bioink Platform Utilizing Dual-stage Crosslinking of Hyaluronic Acid Tailored for Chondrogenic Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells, Macromolecular Bioscience n/a(n/a)  2100331. (2022) (A02, A06, B02, C02)

Schmid R, Schmidt SK, Detsch R, Horder H, Blunk T, Schrufer S, Schubert DW, Fischer L, Thievessen I, Heltmann-Meyer S, Steiner D, Schneidereit D, Friedrich O, Gruneboom A, Amouei H, Wajant H, Horch RE, Bosserhoff AK, Arkudas A, Kengelbach-Weigand A, A New Printable Alginate/Hyaluronic Acid/Gelatin Hydrogel Suitable for Biofabrication of In Vitro and In Vivo Metastatic Melanoma Models, Advanced Functional Materials 32(2) (2022). (C03, A01, A07, B06, B08, C02, C04)

Sporrer M, Kah D, Gerum RC, Reischl B, Huraskin D, Dessalles CA, Schneider W, Goldmann WH, Herrmann H, Thievessen I, Clemen CS, Friedrich O, Hashemolhosseini S, Schroder R, Fabry B, The desmin mutation R349P increases contractility and fragility of stem cell-generated muscle micro-tissues, Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol 48(3) (2022) e12784. (A01, B08, C02)

2021

Kah D, Winterl A, Přechová M, Schöler U, Schneider W, Friedrich O, Gregor M, Fabry B, A low-cost uniaxial cell stretcher for six parallel wells, HardwareX 9 (2021). (A01, B08, C02)

Horder H, Guaza Lasheras M, Grummel N, Nadernezhad A, Herbig J, Ergun S, Tessmar J, Groll J, Fabry B, Bauer-Kreisel P, Blunk T, Bioprinting and Differentiation of Adipose-Derived Stromal Cell Spheroids for a 3D Breast Cancer-Adipose Tissue Model, Cells 10(4) (2021) 803. (C02, A02, B02, B04)

2020

Schmid R, Schmidt SK, Hazur J, Detsch R, Maurer E, Boccaccini AR, Hauptstein J, Tessmar J, Blunk T, Schrufer S, Schubert DW, Horch RE, Bosserhoff AK, Arkudas A, Kengelbach-Weigand A, Comparison of Hydrogels for the Development of Well-Defined 3D Cancer Models of Breast Cancer and Melanoma, Cancers 12(8) (2020) 2320. (C03, A01, A02, A07, C02)

Reimann R, Kah D, Mark C, Dettmer J, Reimann TM, Gerum RC, Geitmann A, Fabry B, Dietrich P, Kost B, Durotropic Growth of Pollen Tubes, Plant Physiol. 183(2) (2020) 558-569. (A01, C02)

Mark C, Grundy TJ, Strissel PL, Bohringer D, Grummel N, Gerum R, Steinwachs J, Hack CC, Beckmann MW, Eckstein M, Strick R, O’Neill GM, Fabry B, Collective forces of tumor spheroids in three-dimensional biopolymer networks, eLife 9 (2020) 51912. (C02, B01)

Hoefner C, Muhr C, Horder H, Wiesner M, Wittmann K, Lukaszyk D, Radeloff K, Winnefeld M, Becker M, Blunk T, Bauer-Kreisel P, Human Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stromal/Stem Cell Spheroids Possess High Adipogenic Capacity and Acquire an Adipose Tissue-like Extracellular Matrix Pattern, Tissue Eng Part A 26(15-16) (2020) 915-926. (C02)

Bachmann J, Ehlert E, Becker M, Otto C, Radeloff K, Blunk T, Bauer-Kreisel P, Ischemia-Like Stress Conditions Stimulate Trophic Activities of Adipose-Derived Stromal/Stem Cells, Cells 9(9) (2020) 1935. (C02)

2019

McMaster R, Hoefner C, Hrynevich A, Blum C, Wiesner M, Wittmann K, Dargaville TR, Bauer-Kreisel P, Groll J, Dalton PD, Blunk T, Tailored Melt Electrowritten Scaffolds for the Generation of Sheet-Like Tissue Constructs from Multicellular Spheroids, Adv Healthc Mater 8(7) (2019) 1801326. (C02, A04)

Condor M, Mark C, Gerum RC, Grummel NC, Bauer A, Garcia-Aznar JM, Fabry B, Breast Cancer Cells Adapt Contractile Forces to Overcome Steric Hindrance, Biophys. J. 116(7) (2019) 1305-1312. (C02)

2023

Torsten Blunk
Cancer Cell Migration depends on adjacent stromal cells in a 3d bioprinted breast cancer model
ISBF Biofabrication 2023 on 19th September 2023

2021

Horder H, Guaza Lasheras M, Grummel N, Nadernezhad A, Herbig J, Ergün S, Teßmar J, Groll J, Fabry B, Bauer-Kreisel P, Blunk T (2021)
Development of a 3D Bioprinted Breast Cancer-Stroma Co-Culture Model Utilizing Adipose-Derived Stroma Cell Spheroids
18th Annual IFATS Conference, 18 to 20 September 2021 (A02, B02, B04, C02)

Horder H, Guaza Lasheras M, Grummel N, Nadernezhad A, Herbig J, Ergün S, Teßmar J, Groll J, Fabry B, Bauer-Kreisel P, Blunk T (2021)
A 3D Bioprinted Breast Cancer-Adipose Tissue Model Utilizing Adipose-Derived Stromal Cell Spheroids
31st Annual Conference of the European Society for Biomaterials (ESB 2021), 5 to 9 September 2021 (A02, B02, B04, C02)

2023

Sabrina Stecher, Jeanette Weigelt, Jörg Tesßmas, Jürgen Groll, Petra Bauer-Kreisel, Torsten Blunk
Migration of breast cancer cells in 3D printable methacrylated collagen type I-based hydrogels
EACR Conference Goodbye Flat Biology on 10th October 2023

2022

Tilman U. Esser, Xuen J. Ng, Vanessa Trossmann, Felix B. Engel, Thomas Scheibel
SFB/TRR 225 Project C02: Biofabrication of 3D models for functional investigations of stromal parameters affecting the behaviour of breast cancer cells
Symposium “Biofabrication meets Infection” Würzburg on 25-28- September 2022          C02

Sabrina Stecher, Thabang Matseke, Hannes Horder, David Böhringer, Franziska Dusi, Petra Bauer-Kreisel, Ben Fabry, Torsten Blunk
SFB/TRR 225 Project C02: Interleukin-2 stimulated natural killer cells fail to respond to chemoattractants
Symposium “Biofabrication meets Infection” Würzburg on 25-28- September 2022         C02

Hannes Horder
3D Bioprinted Co-Culture Models to Investigate Breast Cancer-Adipose Tissue Interactions IVM_047
Meeting of The International Society for Biofabrication 2022, Montecatini Terme (Italy) on 25-28- September 2022      C02

Thabang Matseke, Tina Czerwinski, David Boehringer, Christoph Mark, Caroline Bosch-Voskens, Ben Fabry
SFB/TRR 225 Project C03: Analysis of tumor dormancy and progression in biofabricated vascularized 3D models
Symposium “Biofabrication meets Infection” Würzburg on 25-28- September 2022         C02

Rafael Schmid, Sonja K. Schmidt, Rainer Detsch, Hannes Horder, Torsten Blunk, Stefan Schrüfer, Dirk W. Schubert, Lena Fischer, Ingo Thievessen, Stefanie Heltmann-Meyer, Dominik Steiner, Dominik Schneidereit, Oliver Friedrich, Anika Grüneboom, Hanna Amouei, Harald Wajant, Raymund E. Horch, Anja K. Bosserhoff, Andreas Arkudas, Annika Kengelbach-Weigand
A New Printable Alginate/Hyaluronic Acid/Gelatin Hydrogel Suitable for Biofabrication of In Vitro and In Vivo
Metastatic Melanoma Models TERMIS EU 2022               C03 and A01, A07, B06, B08, C02, C04

2020

Horder H, Lasheras MG, Grummel N, Fabry B, Teßmar J, Bauer-Kreisel P, Blunk T (2020)
3D Bioprinting of Multicellular Adipose-derived Stromal Cell Spheroids in Hyaluronic Acid-based Bioinks
5th Bioinspired Materials 2020 Conference, 16 – 19 March 2020 – Web conference

2019

Grummel N, Mark C, Böhringer D, Horder H, Strissel P, Strick R , Blunk T, Fabry B (2019)
Invasion, migration and force generation of primary epithelial and mesenchymal breast cancer cells
10th Physics of Cancer –  25-27 September 2019 (Leipzig, Germany)

2018

Fischer L, Karakaya E, Distler T, Grummel N, Boccaccini AR, Fabry B, Detsch R, Thievessen I (2018)
Shear stress and cellular behaviour in 3 D biofabrication assays
9th Annual Symposium “Physics of Cancer” 24-26 September 2018 (Leipzig, Germany)

Hannes Horder

Previous academic education: Molecular Biotechnology (M. Sc., Goethe-University Frankfurt), Applied Bio-, Pharma- and Medical Sciences (B. Sc., University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern)
Academic Advisor within SFB TRR225: Prof. Dr. Torsten Blunk
Location: University Hospital Würzburg, Department of Trauma, Hand, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Topic of thesis: Biofabrication of a 3D Model for the Functional Investigation of the Impact of Stromal Determinants on the Behavior of Breast Cancer Cells
Main techniques and methodologies to be used: 2D/3D Cell Culture, Histology, Immunohistochemistry, Microscopy, quantitative DNA- and ECM-Assays, FACS, 3D Bioprinting

Contact: Horder_H@ukw.de

Nadine Endrizzi (Grummel)

Previous academic education: M.Sc. Cell- and Molecularbiology
Academic Advisor within SFB TRR225: Prof. Dr. Ben Fabry
Location: University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Department for Biophysics
Topic of thesis: Biofabrication of a 3D model for functional analysis of stromal determinants on breast cancer cells‘ behavior
Main techniques and methodologies to be used: Cell culture, confocal microscopy

Contact: nadine.endrizzi@fau.de

Prof. Dr. Ben Fabry

  • Coordinator of the “Physics in Medicine” study focus
  • Managing Director, Centre for Medical Physics and Technology, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg
  • Editorial Board, Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering
  • Advisory Board, International Max-Planck Research School Erlangen
  • Member of the management of the Central Institute for Medical Technology (ZIMT) as representative of the Faculty of Natural Sciences
  • Chairman of the examination board of the “Integrated Life Sciences” degree programme
  • Editorial Board, Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology
  • Associate Editor, Scientific Reports