Due to the high incidence of malignant melanoma, the establishment of in vitro models that recapitulate the tumor microenvironment is of great biological and clinical importance for tumor treatment and drug research. In this study, 3D printing technology was used to prepare GelMA/PEGDA composite scaffolds that mimic the microenvironment of human malignant melanoma cell (A375) growth and construct in vitro melanoma micro-models. The GelMA/PEGDA hybrid scaffold was tested by the mechanical property, cell live/dead assay, cell proliferation assay, cytoskeleton staining and drug loading assay. The growth of tumor cells in two- and three-dimensional culture systems and the anti-cancer effect of luteolin were evaluated using the live/dead staining method and the Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) method. The results showed a high aggregation of tumor cells on the 3D scaffold, which was suitable for long-term culture. Cytoskeleton staining and immunofluorescent protein staining were used to evaluate the degree of differentiation of tumor cells under 2D and 3D culture systems. The results indicated that 3D bioprinted scaffolds were more suitable for tumor cell expansion and differentiation, and the tumor cells were more aggressive. In addition, luteolin was time- and dose-dependent on tumor cells, and tumor cells in the 3D culture system were more resistant to the drug.
Keywords: 3D bioprinting; A375 cells; GelMA/PEGDA; in vitro; luteolin; melanoma.