2. Academic Validation
  3. Biomimetic hydrogel for the construction of patient-derived bladder cancer organoids with aggressive growth

Biomimetic hydrogel for the construction of patient-derived bladder cancer organoids with aggressive growth

  • iScience. 2026 Jan 27;29(2):114786. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2026.114786.
Jin Zhang 1 2,  Jiaxin Wang 1,  Xiaofeng Hu 2,  Wei Jia 1,  Ziyuan Zhou 1,  Gaohaer Kadeerhan 1,  Wenmin Guo 1,  Jun Tian 1,  Hong Guo 3 4,  Ling Guo 1,  Dongwen Wang 1
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital & Shenzhen Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College Shenzhen, Guangdong 518116, P.R. China.
  • 2 Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, China.
  • 3 Department of the First Clinical Medical College, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan 030001, China.
  • 4 Department of Urology, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030001, China.
PMID: 41704753 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2026.114786
Abstract

In Cancer, the extracellular matrix (ECM) reorganization, notably Collagen, forming dense, thickened, and orderly structures, affects tumor traits. Bladder Cancer organoids (BCOs) mimic tumor properties for personalized medicine. However, current Organoid scaffolds lack tumor-such as Collagen, crucial for cell growth and migration. Previous efforts to incorporate mesoscale Collagen fibers extracted directly from tumors into scaffolds were limited by the size of the tumor tissue and the efficiency of extraction. In this study, we used cellulose microfibers (MCFs) to mimic in vivo mesoscale collagen's role, enhancing BCO viability, invasiveness, and migration, aligning with tumor growth patterns. These organoids preserved tumor architecture and mutations, showing drug sensitivities similar to those of parental tissue-derived cells and correlating with patient outcomes. This suggests that such organoids can serve as preclinical models to inform therapeutic strategies.

Keywords

Bioengineering; Biological sciences; Biomaterials; Biomimetics; Cancer; Stem cells research.

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