Fig. 1

Stromal cells freshly isolated from healthy breast tissue support microvascular network formation in VMO and VMT models. A Schematic of a single device unit with a single tissue chamber fed through microfluidic channels, 2 loading ports (L1–2), and uncoupled medium inlet and outlets (M1–2 and M3–4). A pressure regulator (PR) serves as a burst valve to release excess pressure from the tissue chamber during loading. B Left: Fluorescent image of a VMO established with stromal cells isolated freshly from histopathologically normal breast tissue. Vessels are shown in red and primary fibroblasts in blue. Right: Zoom view of a vascular network (red) perfused with 70 kDa dextran (cyan). C Left panel: VMO established with patient-derived breast tissue stromal cells. Vasculature shown in red. Middle panel: VMT established with MDA-MB-231 TNBC cells and patient-derived stromal cells. Note invasiveness of the tumor cells. Vasculature is red, tumor is green, and stromal cells are unlabeled. Right panel: VMT established with HCC1599 TNBC cells and patient-derived stromal cells. Vasculature is red, tumor is green, and stromal cells are unlabeled. Scale bar = 200 μm