Multiparametric fluorescence imaging approaches to investigate metabolic signature, lipid droplets, and collagen remodeling in breast cancer spheroids

Tumor spheroids are 3D cell cultures models to study the behavior of avascular solid tumors in a controlled environment. Cellular metabolism, lipid storage and their relationship with the extracellular matrix (ECM) have been shown to be important elements in the characterization of tumor cell proliferation and metastatic invasion, but their simultaneous assessment remains challenging. In order to obtain all the information simultaneously, we imaged tumor spheroid with the following three imaging approaches over a 24 hours period.