Engineering the bone metastatic prostate cancer niche through a microphysiological system to report patient-specific treatment response

Abstract Bone is the most common site of prostate cancer metastasis, leading to significant morbidity, treatment resistance, and mortality. A major challenge in understanding treatment response is the complex, bone metastatic niche. Here, we report the first patient-specific microphysiological syste...

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Main Authors: Cristina Sánchez-de-Diego, Ravi Chandra Yada, Nan Sethakorn, Peter G. Geiger, Adeline B. Ding, Erika Heninger, Fauzan Ahmed, María Virumbrales-Muñoz, Nikolett Lupsa, Emmett Bartels, Kacey Stewart, Suzanne M. Ponik, Marina N. Sharifi, Joshua M. Lang, David J. Beebe, Sheena C. Kerr
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-07-01
Series:Communications Biology
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-08384-2
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author Cristina Sánchez-de-Diego
Ravi Chandra Yada
Nan Sethakorn
Peter G. Geiger
Adeline B. Ding
Erika Heninger
Fauzan Ahmed
María Virumbrales-Muñoz
Nikolett Lupsa
Emmett Bartels
Kacey Stewart
Suzanne M. Ponik
Marina N. Sharifi
Joshua M. Lang
David J. Beebe
Sheena C. Kerr
author_facet Cristina Sánchez-de-Diego
Ravi Chandra Yada
Nan Sethakorn
Peter G. Geiger
Adeline B. Ding
Erika Heninger
Fauzan Ahmed
María Virumbrales-Muñoz
Nikolett Lupsa
Emmett Bartels
Kacey Stewart
Suzanne M. Ponik
Marina N. Sharifi
Joshua M. Lang
David J. Beebe
Sheena C. Kerr
author_sort Cristina Sánchez-de-Diego
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Bone is the most common site of prostate cancer metastasis, leading to significant morbidity, treatment resistance, and mortality. A major challenge in understanding treatment response is the complex, bone metastatic niche. Here, we report the first patient-specific microphysiological system (MPS) to incorporate six primary human stromal cell types found in the metastatic bone niche (mesenchymal stem cells, adipocytes, osteoblasts, osteoclasts, fibroblasts, and macrophages), alongside an endothelial microvessel, and prostate tumor epithelial spheroids in an optimized media that supports their viability and phenotype. We tested two standard of care drugs, darolutamide and docetaxel, in addition to sacituzumab govitecan (SG), currently in clinical trials for prostate cancer, demonstrating that the MPS accurately replicates androgen response sensitivity and captures stromal microenvironment-mediated resistance. This advanced MPS provides a robust platform for investigating the biological mechanisms of treatment response and for identification and testing of therapeutics to advance patient-specific MPS towards personalized clinical-decision making.
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issn 2399-3642
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spelling doaj-art-a23ac740947b430cb71651a68ebd65dd2025-08-20T03:45:34ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Biology2399-36422025-07-018112210.1038/s42003-025-08384-2Engineering the bone metastatic prostate cancer niche through a microphysiological system to report patient-specific treatment responseCristina Sánchez-de-Diego0Ravi Chandra Yada1Nan Sethakorn2Peter G. Geiger3Adeline B. Ding4Erika Heninger5Fauzan Ahmed6María Virumbrales-Muñoz7Nikolett Lupsa8Emmett Bartels9Kacey Stewart10Suzanne M. Ponik11Marina N. Sharifi12Joshua M. Lang13David J. Beebe14Sheena C. Kerr15Carbone Cancer Center, University of WisconsinCarbone Cancer Center, University of WisconsinDepartment of Medicine, Loyola University ChicagoDepartment of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, University of WisconsinCarbone Cancer Center, University of WisconsinCarbone Cancer Center, University of WisconsinDepartment of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, University of WisconsinCarbone Cancer Center, University of WisconsinCarbone Cancer Center, University of WisconsinDepartment of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, University of WisconsinDepartment of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, University of WisconsinCarbone Cancer Center, University of WisconsinCarbone Cancer Center, University of WisconsinCarbone Cancer Center, University of WisconsinCarbone Cancer Center, University of WisconsinCarbone Cancer Center, University of WisconsinAbstract Bone is the most common site of prostate cancer metastasis, leading to significant morbidity, treatment resistance, and mortality. A major challenge in understanding treatment response is the complex, bone metastatic niche. Here, we report the first patient-specific microphysiological system (MPS) to incorporate six primary human stromal cell types found in the metastatic bone niche (mesenchymal stem cells, adipocytes, osteoblasts, osteoclasts, fibroblasts, and macrophages), alongside an endothelial microvessel, and prostate tumor epithelial spheroids in an optimized media that supports their viability and phenotype. We tested two standard of care drugs, darolutamide and docetaxel, in addition to sacituzumab govitecan (SG), currently in clinical trials for prostate cancer, demonstrating that the MPS accurately replicates androgen response sensitivity and captures stromal microenvironment-mediated resistance. This advanced MPS provides a robust platform for investigating the biological mechanisms of treatment response and for identification and testing of therapeutics to advance patient-specific MPS towards personalized clinical-decision making.https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-08384-2
spellingShingle Cristina Sánchez-de-Diego
Ravi Chandra Yada
Nan Sethakorn
Peter G. Geiger
Adeline B. Ding
Erika Heninger
Fauzan Ahmed
María Virumbrales-Muñoz
Nikolett Lupsa
Emmett Bartels
Kacey Stewart
Suzanne M. Ponik
Marina N. Sharifi
Joshua M. Lang
David J. Beebe
Sheena C. Kerr
Engineering the bone metastatic prostate cancer niche through a microphysiological system to report patient-specific treatment response
Communications Biology
title Engineering the bone metastatic prostate cancer niche through a microphysiological system to report patient-specific treatment response
title_full Engineering the bone metastatic prostate cancer niche through a microphysiological system to report patient-specific treatment response
title_fullStr Engineering the bone metastatic prostate cancer niche through a microphysiological system to report patient-specific treatment response
title_full_unstemmed Engineering the bone metastatic prostate cancer niche through a microphysiological system to report patient-specific treatment response
title_short Engineering the bone metastatic prostate cancer niche through a microphysiological system to report patient-specific treatment response
title_sort engineering the bone metastatic prostate cancer niche through a microphysiological system to report patient specific treatment response
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-08384-2
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