Spheroid culture is one of the three-dimensional (3-D) culture models. We have constructed a spheroid culture model for prostate cancer therapy and characterized this model. The change of global gene expression profiles in spheroids and solid tumor tissues were also compared with monolayer cultures, leading to extraction of candidate genes in contexts that more closely mimic tumor growth in vitro under different in vitro growth conditions. It is possible that these genes may be specific to the construction of spheroids and reveal the possibilities of new mechanisms of acquiring anticancer drug resistance or sensitivity. The plk-2 was extracted as a candidate

e gene related with spheroid formation. A member of the polo-like kinase (PLK) family, PLK2 is one of highly conserved serine/threonine protein kinases. In this study, we analyzed effects of the PLK2 on the spheroid characterization and anticancer drug resistance in DU-145 spheroids by suppressing plk2 with RNAi. When docetaxel (DTX) was exposed for siRNA-transfected spheroids, the viability changed, the volume decreased at each concentration of DTX, and spheroids were collapsed at last. The result indicates that the plk2 may be involved in acquiring anticancer drug resistance.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4275. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-4275

©2011 American Association for Cancer Research
2011