Spatial control of oxygen delivery to 3D cultures alters cancer cell growth and gene expression

Commonly used monolayer cancer cell cultures fail to provide a physiologically relevant environment in terms of oxygen delivery. Here, we describe a three-dimensional bioreactor system where cancer cells are grown in Matrigel in modified 6-well plates. Oxygen is delivered to the cultures through a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membrane at the bottom of the wells, with microfabricated PDMS pillars to control oxygen delivery. The plates receive 3% oxygen from below and 0% oxygen at the top surface of the media, providing a gradient of 3% to 0% oxygen. We compared growth and transcriptional profiles for cancer cells grown in Matrigel in the bioreactor, 3D cultures grown in 21% oxygen, and cells grown in a standard hypoxia chamber at 3% oxygen. Additionally, we compared gene expression of conventional 2D monolayer culture and 3D Matrigel culture in 21% oxygen. We conclude that controlled oxygen delivery may provide a more physiologically relevant 3D system.