HHUA endometrial adenocarcinoma cells aggregated into spheroids when cultured on collagen type I gels. 12-O-Tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate, a PKC activator, disassembled the spheroids through epithelial-mesenchymal transition and increased their proliferation rate, while inducing cell death under monolayer culture conditions. These unusual behaviors of endometrial epithelial cells with collagen fibers could be a target for the treatment of some endometrial diseases.
Keywords: adenomyosis; cell spheroid; collagen type I; endometrial cancer; epithelial–mesenchymal transition.
© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Japan Society for Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Agrochemistry.