Catarine G. L. Canellas

Study of human prostate spheroids treated with zinc using X ray microfluorescence

Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed type of cancer in men and the second leading cause of their cancer death in many countries. Human tumor cells cultured in three dimensions display increased pro-angiogenic capacities and resistance to interferons, chemotherapeutic agents or irradiation, as compared with cells cultured in two dimensional monolayers. In this study, we investigated Zn distribution in prostate cancer spheroids (DU145) and analyzed the differences in the response to Zinc (0-150 μM) treatment using X-ray microfluorescence with Synchrotron Radiation (SRμXRF). The measurements were performed in standard geometry of 45° incidence, exciting with a white beam and using an optical capillary with 20 μm diameter collimation in the XRF beam line at the Synchrotron Light National Laboratory (Campinas, Brazil). The results showed non-uniform distribution of Zn in all the spheroids analyzed. Zn treatment showed a decrease in Zn intensity with the increase of its concentration in DU145 spheroids. The differential response to zinc of DU145 cell spheroids suggests that zinc may have an important role in prostate cancer.

Study of Response to Zinc in Human Prostate Spheroids Using X-Ray Microfluorescence

Diseases of the prostate gland are the most frequently diagnosed in men after middle age. Spheroid cell culture is a useful technique for tissue engineering or regenerative medicine research, pharmacological and toxicological studies, and fundamental studies in cell biology. In this paper, we investigated zinc distribution in cell spheroids in benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer (PCa) (DU145) and analyzed the differences in the response to zinc (0-150 μM) treatment using μXRF with synchrotron radiation. The results showed nonuniform distribution of Zn in all the spheroids analyzed. The differential response to zinc of BPH and DU145 cell spheroids suggests that zinc may have an important role in PCa.

Spatial distribution of elements in the spheroids by prostate tumor cells using synchrotron radiation x-ray fluorescence

The formation of three-dimensional cell microspheres such as spheroids has attracted attention as a useful culture technique. In this study, we investigated the trace elemental distribution (mapping) in spheroids derived from tissue prostate cancer (PCa). The measurements were performed in standard geometry of 45° incidence, exciting with a white beam and using an optical capillary with 20 μm diameter collimation in the XRF beam line at the Synchrotron Light National Laboratory (Campinas, Brazil). The results showed that most elements analyzed presented non-uniform distribution. P, S and Cl showed similar elemental distribution in all the samples analyzed. K, Ca, Fe, and Cu showed different elemental distribution for the spheroids analyzed. Zinc presented more intense distributions in the spheroid central region for all spheroids analyzed.

Elemental concentrations in skin of patients with fibroeptelial polip using synchrotron radiation total reflection x-ray fluorescence

In this work, the concentrations of trace elements were measured in acrochordon, a skin lesion also known as skin tag or fibroepithelial polyp, as well as in normal skin from the same patient. The samples were analyzed by Synchrotron Radiation Total Reflection X-ray Fluorescence (SRTXRF) in the Synchrotron Light National Laboratory (LNLS) in Campinas/Sao Paulo-Brazil. The collection of lesion and healthy skin samples, including papillary dermis and epidermis, has involved 17 patients. It was evaluated the presence of P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Fe, Cu and Zn in the paired samples, which were compared, and significant differences were found in some of them.