Figure 3

The expression of (a) stem cell markers in ovarian cancer spheroid cultured under stationary or perfusion with shear stress at 0.002 or 0.02 dyne/cm² was detected by RT-PCR. The band intensity was determined by densitometry and data are shown as mean ± SEM. (b) Identification of CD117⁺/CD44⁺ cells by FACS. Scatter plots show the coexpression of CD117⁺ and CD44⁺ in spheroids growth under stationary or 0.02 dyne/cm² (left). Percentage of CD117⁺/CD44⁺ cells was showed as mean ± SEM (right). (c) The number of secondary tumor spheres formed was counted. Results were presented as the mean ± SEM. (d) Spheroids adhere and form colonies under differentiation condition. Bar, 100 μm. (e) Xenograft tumor formed after s.c. injection of cells derived from spheroids cultured in microfluidic chips with or without perfusion (left). Tumor growth was measured and represented as mean ± SEM (right). Significant differences between stationary and perfusion culture conditions are indicated with asterisk (*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001).