bioengineering embryonic stem cell microenvironments for the study of breast cancer生物工程研究胚胎干细胞微环境的乳腺癌.pdf

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2011, 12, 7662-7691; doi:10.3390/ijm OPEN ACCESS International Journal of Molecular Sciences ISSN 1422-0067 /journal/ijms Review Bioengineering Embryonic Stem Cell Microenvironments for the Study of Breast Cancer Nurazhani Abdul Raof, Bridget M. Mooney and Yubing Xie * College of Nanoscale Science Engineering, University at Albany (SUNY), Albany, NY 12202, USA; E-Mails: nabdulraof@ (N.A.R.); bm0675@ (B.M.M.) * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: yxie@; Tel.: +1-518-956-7381; Fax: +1-518-437-8687. Received: 21 September 2011; in revised form: 27 October 2011 / Accepted: 31 October 2011 / Published: 8 November 2011 Abstract: Breast cancer is the most prevalent disease amongst women worldwide and metastasis is the main cause of death due to breast cancer. Metastatic breast cancer cells and embryonic stem (ES) cells display similar characteristics. However, unlike metastatic breast cancer cells, ES cells are nonmalignant. Furthermore, embryonic microenvironments have the potential to convert metastatic breast cancer cells into a less invasive phenotype. The creation of in vitro embryonic microenvironments will enable better understanding of ES cell-breast cancer cell interactions, help elucidate tumorigenesis, and lead to the restriction of breast cancer metastasis. In this article, we will present the characteristics of breast cancer cells and ES cells as