%0 Journal Article %T In 2D and 3D Cell Culture Models, Effects of Endothelial Cells on E-cadherin / β-catenin Expression Levels and Spheroid Sizes in Ishikawa Cells %J Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention %I West Asia Organization for Cancer Prevention (WAOCP), APOCP's West Asia Chapter. %Z 1513-7368 %A Kalender, Mervenur %A Bulbul, Muhammet Volkan %A Kolbasi, Bircan %A Keskin, Ilknur %D 2022 %\ 01/01/2022 %V 23 %N 1 %P 39-51 %! In 2D and 3D Cell Culture Models, Effects of Endothelial Cells on E-cadherin / β-catenin Expression Levels and Spheroid Sizes in Ishikawa Cells %K E-cadherin %K Co-culture %K Spheroid %K β-catenin %K Immunofluorescence %R 10.31557/APJCP.2022.23.1.39 %X Objective: Increasing evidence shows that three dimensional cell culture models better reflect the in vivo tumor microenvironment than two dimensional cell culture models. Co-culture models are ideal cell culture models for understanding the communication between cells and the in vivo microenvironment. Changes in expression levels of E-cadherin are closely related to cancer metastasis and progression. β-catenin mediates cell adhesion of E-cadherin. Endothelial cells are stromal cell components in the tumor microenvironment. It is known that there is little or no expression of E-cadherin in endothelial cells. Methods: In our study, both two-dimensional and three dimensional mono-culture and co-culture models were created using Huvec and Ishikawa cells (endometrial cancer cell lines) to better reflect cell interactions. Spheroids were followed for three days in the three-dimensional cell culture model. E-cadherin and β-catenin expression levels of two-dimensional and three dimensional mono-culture and co-culture models were measured by immunofluorescence staining. Spheroid images were recorded using a Z-stack. Intensity measurements in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional mono-culture and co-culture models were made using the Image J software. Study groups were evaluated by one-way analysis of variance (One-Way ANOVA). Values of p <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: The size of the co-culture spheroids was recorded significantly larger than the mono-culture spheroids (p <0.0001). In two (p = 0.0175) and three dimensional models (p <0.0001), expression levels of E-cadherin in the mono-culture of Ishikawa cells were recorded significantly higher than in Huvec and co-culture cells. Likewise, while the expression levels of β-catenin were higher in the mono-culture of Ishikawa cells in two-dimensional models (p <0.05), no significant difference was observed in three dimensional models (p> 0.05). Conclusion: In summary, it has been noted that the expression levels of E-cadherin are significantly reduced in co-cultures of Ishikawa cells with Huvec cells in both two and three dimensions . These results support the idea that endothelial cells may cause changes in endometrial cancer progression by suppressing E-cadherin expression in Ishikawa cells. %U https://journal.waocp.org/article_89920_009c0c65586d0317652c9c9cc1e4d2bc.pdf