Analyzing the Communication Between Monocytes and Primary Breast Cancer Cells in an Extracellular Matrix Extract (ECME)-based Three-dimensional System.

Embedded in the extracellular matrix (ECM), normal and neoplastic epithelial cells intimately communicate with hematopoietic and non-hematopoietic cells, thus greatly influencing normal tissue homeostasis and disease outcome. In breast cancer, tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) play a critical role in disease progression, metastasis, and recurrence; therefore, understanding the mechanisms of monocyte chemoattraction to the tumor microenvironment and their interactions with tumor cells is important to control the disease. Here, we provide a detailed description of a three-dimensional (3D) co-culture system of human breast cancer (BrC) cells and human monocytes.

Corrigendum: IL-1β, IL-8, and Matrix Metalloproteinases-1, -2, and -10 Are Enriched upon Monocyte-Breast Cancer Cell Cocultivation in a Matrigel-Based Three-Dimensional System.

[This corrects the article on p. 205 in vol. 8, PMID: 28337194.

IL-1β, IL-8, and Matrix Metalloproteinases-1, -2, and -10 Are Enriched upon Monocyte-Breast Cancer Cell Cocultivation in a Matrigel-Based Three-Dimensional System.

Breast cancer remains the first cancer-related cause of death in women worldwide, particularly in developing countries in which most cases are diagnosed in late stages. Although most cancer studies are based in the genetic or epigenetic changes of the tumor cells, immune cells within the tumor stroma often cooperate with cancer progression. Particularly, monocytes are attracted to the tumor primary site in which they are differentiated into tumor-associated macrophages that facilitate tumor cell invasion and metastasis.