Loughborough, Promega Study Explores Exercise-Cancer Link

Loughborough University researchers are using Promega’s bioluminescence-based CellTiter-Glo 3D Cell Viability Assay to study whether exercise can counteract the cancer-promoting effects of fat cells in breast cancer. Reported on 20 July 2026, the work applies a 3D cell culture model of the obesogenic breast cancer microenvironment, incorporating fat cells from both visceral and subcutaneous sources, and moves beyond the physiological limitations of traditional 2D cell culture methods.

The research is led by Dr Mhairi Morris, Reader in Exercise Oncology at Loughborough University’s School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences. The 3D model was developed to investigate whether exercise has a differential effect on cancer cells depending on the type of adipose tissue involved, since visceral and subcutaneous fat behave metabolically and endocrinologically in different ways. Early findings show that culturing cancer cells with fat cells increases their viability, but introducing exercise reverses that effect. The team is now working to unpack the molecular mechanisms driving this response.

Moving from 2D to 3D cultures created a methodological challenge: previously used MTT and WST-1 colorimetric assays did not deliver consistent results within complex matrix-embedded systems. Promega’s CellTiter-Glo 3D Cell Viability Assay resolved this via an add-and-read bioluminescence workflow that works directly in matrix without prior digestion, reducing total assay time from around four hours to roughly 30 minutes. Philip Hargreaves, PhD, Director of Strategic Marketing and Business Development at Promega, framed the work as an example of the broader field shift towards more physiologically relevant systems.

The commercial signal is a growing 3D cell culture market where bioluminescence-based viability assays are displacing legacy MTT and WST-1 methods for complex physiologically relevant systems. As regulators and grant-funders push for reduced animal use and more physiologically relevant preclinical models, expect continued growth for Promega, Thermo Fisher, Merck KGaA (Sigma-Aldrich) and specialist 3D platforms including Corning and InSphero.

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