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Zhou Z, Pang Y, Ji J, He J, Liu T, Ouyang L, Zhang W, Zhang XL, Zhang ZG, Zhang K, Sun W. Harnessing 3D in vitro systems to model immune responses to solid tumours: a step towards improving and creating personalized immunotherapies. Nat Rev Immunol 2024; 24:18-32. [PMID: 37402992 DOI: 10.1038/s41577-023-00896-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/17/2023] [Indexed: 07/06/2023]
Abstract
In vitro 3D models are advanced biological tools that have been established to overcome the shortcomings of oversimplified 2D cultures and mouse models. Various in vitro 3D immuno-oncology models have been developed to mimic and recapitulate the cancer-immunity cycle, evaluate immunotherapy regimens, and explore options for optimizing current immunotherapies, including for individual patient tumours. Here, we review recent developments in this field. We focus, first, on the limitations of existing immunotherapies for solid tumours, secondly, on how in vitro 3D immuno-oncology models are established using various technologies - including scaffolds, organoids, microfluidics and 3D bioprinting - and thirdly, on the applications of these 3D models for comprehending the cancer-immunity cycle as well as for assessing and improving immunotherapies for solid tumours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenzhen Zhou
- Biomanufacturing Center, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Haidian District, Beijing, China
- Biomanufacturing and Rapid Forming Technology Key Laboratory of Beijing, Beijing, China
- Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials Processing Technology, Ministry of Education, Beijing, China
| | - Yuan Pang
- Biomanufacturing Center, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Haidian District, Beijing, China.
- Biomanufacturing and Rapid Forming Technology Key Laboratory of Beijing, Beijing, China.
- Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials Processing Technology, Ministry of Education, Beijing, China.
| | - Jingyuan Ji
- Biomanufacturing Center, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Haidian District, Beijing, China
- Biomanufacturing and Rapid Forming Technology Key Laboratory of Beijing, Beijing, China
- Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials Processing Technology, Ministry of Education, Beijing, China
| | - Jianyu He
- Biomanufacturing Center, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Haidian District, Beijing, China
- Biomanufacturing and Rapid Forming Technology Key Laboratory of Beijing, Beijing, China
- Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials Processing Technology, Ministry of Education, Beijing, China
| | - Tiankun Liu
- Biomanufacturing Center, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Haidian District, Beijing, China
- Biomanufacturing and Rapid Forming Technology Key Laboratory of Beijing, Beijing, China
- Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials Processing Technology, Ministry of Education, Beijing, China
| | - Liliang Ouyang
- Biomanufacturing Center, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Haidian District, Beijing, China
- Biomanufacturing and Rapid Forming Technology Key Laboratory of Beijing, Beijing, China
- Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials Processing Technology, Ministry of Education, Beijing, China
| | - Wen Zhang
- Department of Immunology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China
| | - Xue-Li Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Shanghai Cancer Institute, Ren Ji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhi-Gang Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Shanghai Cancer Institute, Ren Ji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Kaitai Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Department of Aetiology and Carcinogenesis, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China
| | - Wei Sun
- Biomanufacturing Center, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Haidian District, Beijing, China.
- Biomanufacturing and Rapid Forming Technology Key Laboratory of Beijing, Beijing, China.
- Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials Processing Technology, Ministry of Education, Beijing, China.
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
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Wu Z, Huang D, Wang J, Zhao Y, Sun W, Shen X. Engineering Heterogeneous Tumor Models for Biomedical Applications. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2024; 11:e2304160. [PMID: 37946674 PMCID: PMC10767453 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202304160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Revised: 09/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023]
Abstract
Tumor tissue engineering holds great promise for replicating the physiological and behavioral characteristics of tumors in vitro. Advances in this field have led to new opportunities for studying the tumor microenvironment and exploring potential anti-cancer therapeutics. However, the main obstacle to the widespread adoption of tumor models is the poor understanding and insufficient reconstruction of tumor heterogeneity. In this review, the current progress of engineering heterogeneous tumor models is discussed. First, the major components of tumor heterogeneity are summarized, which encompasses various signaling pathways, cell proliferations, and spatial configurations. Then, contemporary approaches are elucidated in tumor engineering that are guided by fundamental principles of tumor biology, and the potential of a bottom-up approach in tumor engineering is highlighted. Additionally, the characterization approaches and biomedical applications of tumor models are discussed, emphasizing the significant role of engineered tumor models in scientific research and clinical trials. Lastly, the challenges of heterogeneous tumor models in promoting oncology research and tumor therapy are described and key directions for future research are provided.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhuhao Wu
- Department of Rheumatology and ImmunologyNanjing Drum Tower HospitalSchool of Biological Science and Medical EngineeringSoutheast UniversityNanjing210096China
| | - Danqing Huang
- Department of Rheumatology and ImmunologyNanjing Drum Tower HospitalSchool of Biological Science and Medical EngineeringSoutheast UniversityNanjing210096China
| | - Jinglin Wang
- Department of Rheumatology and ImmunologyNanjing Drum Tower HospitalSchool of Biological Science and Medical EngineeringSoutheast UniversityNanjing210096China
| | - Yuanjin Zhao
- Department of Rheumatology and ImmunologyNanjing Drum Tower HospitalSchool of Biological Science and Medical EngineeringSoutheast UniversityNanjing210096China
- Department of Gastrointestinal SurgeryThe First Affiliated HospitalWenzhou Medical UniversityWenzhou325035China
| | - Weijian Sun
- Department of Gastrointestinal SurgeryThe Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical UniversityWenzhou325027China
| | - Xian Shen
- Department of Rheumatology and ImmunologyNanjing Drum Tower HospitalSchool of Biological Science and Medical EngineeringSoutheast UniversityNanjing210096China
- Department of Gastrointestinal SurgeryThe First Affiliated HospitalWenzhou Medical UniversityWenzhou325035China
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Abizanda-Campo S, Virumbrales-Muñoz M, Humayun M, Marmol I, Beebe DJ, Ochoa I, Oliván S, Ayuso JM. Microphysiological systems for solid tumor immunotherapy: opportunities and challenges. MICROSYSTEMS & NANOENGINEERING 2023; 9:154. [PMID: 38106674 PMCID: PMC10724276 DOI: 10.1038/s41378-023-00616-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2023] [Revised: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
Immunotherapy remains more effective for hematologic tumors than for solid tumors. One of the main challenges to immunotherapy of solid tumors is the immunosuppressive microenvironment these tumors generate, which limits the cytotoxic capabilities of immune effector cells (e.g., cytotoxic T and natural killer cells). This microenvironment is characterized by hypoxia, nutrient starvation, accumulated waste products, and acidic pH. Tumor-hijacked cells, such as fibroblasts, macrophages, and T regulatory cells, also contribute to this inhospitable microenvironment for immune cells by secreting immunosuppressive cytokines that suppress the antitumor immune response and lead to immune evasion. Thus, there is a strong interest in developing new drugs and cell formulations that modulate the tumor microenvironment and reduce tumor cell immune evasion. Microphysiological systems (MPSs) are versatile tools that may accelerate the development and evaluation of these therapies, although specific examples showcasing the potential of MPSs remain rare. Advances in microtechnologies have led to the development of sophisticated microfluidic devices used to recapitulate tumor complexity. The resulting models, also known as microphysiological systems (MPSs), are versatile tools with which to decipher the molecular mechanisms driving immune cell antitumor cytotoxicity, immune cell exhaustion, and immune cell exclusion and to evaluate new targeted immunotherapies. Here, we review existing microphysiological platforms to study immuno-oncological applications and discuss challenges and opportunities in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Abizanda-Campo
- Department of Dermatology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI USA
- University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, Madison, WI USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI USA
- Tissue Microenvironment Lab (TME lab), Aragón Institute of Engineering Research (I3A), University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Aragón (IISA), Zaragoza, Spain
- Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red. Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN), Zaragoza, Spain
| | - María Virumbrales-Muñoz
- University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, Madison, WI USA
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI USA
| | - Mouhita Humayun
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Cambridge, MA USA
| | - Ines Marmol
- Tissue Microenvironment Lab (TME lab), Aragón Institute of Engineering Research (I3A), University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Aragón (IISA), Zaragoza, Spain
| | - David J Beebe
- University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, Madison, WI USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI USA
- Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI USA
| | - Ignacio Ochoa
- Tissue Microenvironment Lab (TME lab), Aragón Institute of Engineering Research (I3A), University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Aragón (IISA), Zaragoza, Spain
- Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red. Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN), Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Sara Oliván
- Tissue Microenvironment Lab (TME lab), Aragón Institute of Engineering Research (I3A), University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Aragón (IISA), Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Jose M Ayuso
- Department of Dermatology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI USA
- University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, Madison, WI USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI USA
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Peng AY, Lee BE. Microphysiological Systems for Cancer Immunotherapy Research and Development. Adv Biol (Weinh) 2023:e2300077. [PMID: 37409385 PMCID: PMC10770294 DOI: 10.1002/adbi.202300077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2023] [Revised: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/07/2023]
Abstract
Cancer immunotherapy focuses on the use of patients' adaptive immune systems to combat cancer. In the past decade, FDA has approved many immunotherapy products for cancer patients who suffer from primary tumors, tumor relapse, and metastases. However, these immunotherapies still show resistance in many patients and often lead to inconsistent responses in patients due to variations in tumor genetic mutations and tumor immune microenvironment. Microfluidics-based organ-on-a-chip technologies or microphysiological systems have opened new ways that can provide relatively fast screening for personalized immunotherapy and help researchers and clinicians understand tumor-immune interactions in a patient-specific manner. They also have the potential to overcome the limitations of traditional drug screening and testing, given the models provide a more realistic 3D microenvironment with better controllability, reproducibility, and physiological relevance. This review focuses on the cutting-edge microphysiological organ-on-a-chip devices developed in recent years for studying cancer immunity and testing cancer immunotherapeutic agents, as well as some of the largest challenges of translating this technology to clinical applications in immunotherapy and personalized medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- A. Yansong Peng
- Nancy E. and Peter C. Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - B. Esak Lee
- Nancy E. and Peter C. Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
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Ngan Ngo TK, Kuo CH, Tu TY. Recent advances in microfluidic-based cancer immunotherapy-on-a-chip strategies. BIOMICROFLUIDICS 2023; 17:011501. [PMID: 36647540 PMCID: PMC9840534 DOI: 10.1063/5.0108792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2022] [Accepted: 12/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Despite several extraordinary improvements in cancer immunotherapy, its therapeutic effectiveness against many distinct cancer types remains mostly limited and requires further study. Different microfluidic-based cancer immunotherapy-on-a-chip (ITOC) systems have been developed to help researchers replicate the tumor microenvironment and immune system. Numerous microfluidic platforms can potentially be used to perform various on-chip activities related to early clinical cancer immunotherapy processes, such as improving immune checkpoint blockade therapy, studying immune cell dynamics, evaluating cytotoxicity, and creating vaccines or organoid models from patient samples. In this review, we summarize the most recent advancements in the development of various microfluidic-based ITOC devices for cancer treatment niches and present future perspectives on microfluidic devices for immunotherapy research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thi Kim Ngan Ngo
- Biomedical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
| | - Cheng-Hsiang Kuo
- International Center for Wound Repair and Regeneration, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
| | - Ting-Yuan Tu
- Author to whom correspondence should be addressed:
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6
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Recent advances in microfluidic single-cell analysis and its applications in drug development. Trends Analyt Chem 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.trac.2022.116796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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Tang X, Huang Q, Arai T, Liu X. Cell pairing for biological analysis in microfluidic devices. BIOMICROFLUIDICS 2022; 16:061501. [PMID: 36389274 PMCID: PMC9646252 DOI: 10.1063/5.0095828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2022] [Accepted: 10/10/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Cell pairing at the single-cell level usually allows a few cells to contact or seal in a single chamber and provides high-resolution imaging. It is pivotal for biological research, including understanding basic cell functions, creating cancer treatment technologies, developing drugs, and more. Laboratory chips based on microfluidics have been widely used to trap, immobilize, and analyze cells due to their high efficiency, high throughput, and good biocompatibility properties. Cell pairing technology in microfluidic devices provides spatiotemporal research on cellular interactions and a highly controlled approach for cell heterogeneity studies. In the last few decades, many researchers have emphasized cell pairing research based on microfluidics. They designed various microfluidic device structures for different biological applications. Herein, we describe the current physical methods of microfluidic devices to trap cell pairs. We emphatically summarize the practical applications of cell pairing in microfluidic devices, including cell fusion, cell immunity, gap junction intercellular communication, cell co-culture, and other applications. Finally, we review the advances and existing challenges of the presented devices and then discuss the possible development directions to promote medical and biological research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoqing Tang
- Key Laboratory of Biomimetic Robots and Systems, Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Intelligent Control and Decision of Complex System, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Intelligent Robots and Systems, and School of Mechatronical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Qiang Huang
- Key Laboratory of Biomimetic Robots and Systems, Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Intelligent Control and Decision of Complex System, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Intelligent Robots and Systems, and School of Mechatronical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Tatsuo Arai
- Key Laboratory of Biomimetic Robots and Systems, Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Intelligent Control and Decision of Complex System, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Intelligent Robots and Systems, and School of Mechatronical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Xiaoming Liu
- Key Laboratory of Biomimetic Robots and Systems, Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Intelligent Control and Decision of Complex System, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Intelligent Robots and Systems, and School of Mechatronical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
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Campisi M, Shelton SE, Chen M, Kamm RD, Barbie DA, Knelson EH. Engineered Microphysiological Systems for Testing Effectiveness of Cell-Based Cancer Immunotherapies. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:3561. [PMID: 35892819 PMCID: PMC9330888 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14153561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2022] [Revised: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 07/16/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Cell therapies, including adoptive immune cell therapies and genetically engineered chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T or NK cells, have shown promise in treating hematologic malignancies. Yet, immune cell infiltration and expansion has proven challenging in solid tumors due to immune cell exclusion and exhaustion and the presence of vascular barriers. Testing next-generation immune therapies remains challenging in animals, motivating sophisticated ex vivo models of human tumor biology and prognostic assays to predict treatment response in real-time while comprehensively recapitulating the human tumor immune microenvironment (TIME). This review examines current strategies for testing cell-based cancer immunotherapies using ex vivo microphysiological systems and microfluidic technologies. Insights into the multicellular interactions of the TIME will identify novel therapeutic strategies to help patients whose tumors are refractory or resistant to current immunotherapies. Altogether, these microphysiological systems (MPS) have the capability to predict therapeutic vulnerabilities and biological barriers while studying immune cell infiltration and killing in a more physiologically relevant context, thereby providing important insights into fundamental biologic mechanisms to expand our understanding of and treatments for currently incurable malignancies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Campisi
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115, USA; (M.C.); (S.E.S.); (M.C.); (D.A.B.)
| | - Sarah E. Shelton
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115, USA; (M.C.); (S.E.S.); (M.C.); (D.A.B.)
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA;
| | - Minyue Chen
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115, USA; (M.C.); (S.E.S.); (M.C.); (D.A.B.)
- Department of Immunology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Roger D. Kamm
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA;
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - David A. Barbie
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115, USA; (M.C.); (S.E.S.); (M.C.); (D.A.B.)
| | - Erik H. Knelson
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115, USA; (M.C.); (S.E.S.); (M.C.); (D.A.B.)
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Zhang J, Tavakoli H, Ma L, Li X, Han L, Li X. Immunotherapy discovery on tumor organoid-on-a-chip platforms that recapitulate the tumor microenvironment. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 2022; 187:114365. [PMID: 35667465 DOI: 10.1016/j.addr.2022.114365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2022] [Revised: 04/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Cancer immunotherapy has achieved remarkable success over the past decade by modulating patients' own immune systems and unleashing pre-existing immunity. However, only a minority of cancer patients across different cancer types are able to benefit from immunotherapy treatment; moreover, among those small portions of patients with response, intrinsic and acquired resistance remains a persistent challenge. Because the tumor microenvironment (TME) is well recognized to play a critical role in tumor initiation, progression, metastasis, and the suppression of the immune system and responses to immunotherapy, understanding the interactions between the TME and the immune system is a pivotal step in developing novel and efficient cancer immunotherapies. With unique features such as low reagent consumption, dynamic and precise fluid control, versatile structures and function designs, and 3D cell co-culture, microfluidic tumor organoid-on-a-chip platforms that recapitulate key factors of the TME and the immune contexture have emerged as innovative reliable tools to investigate how tumors regulate their TME to counteract antitumor immunity and the mechanism of tumor resistance to immunotherapy. In this comprehensive review, we focus on recent advances in tumor organoid-on-a-chip platforms for studying the interaction between the TME and the immune system. We first review different factors of the TME that recent microfluidic in vitro systems reproduce to generate advanced tools to imitate the crosstalk between the TME and the immune system. Then, we discuss their applications in the assessment of different immunotherapies' efficacy using tumor organoid-on-a-chip platforms. Finally, we present an overview and the outlook of engineered microfluidic platforms in investigating the interactions between cancer and immune systems, and the adoption of patient-on-a-chip models in clinical applications toward personalized immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Zhang
- School of Life Sciences, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W University Ave., El Paso, TX 79968, USA
| | - Hamed Tavakoli
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W University Ave., El Paso, TX 79968, USA
| | - Lei Ma
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W University Ave., El Paso, TX 79968, USA
| | - Xiaochun Li
- College of Biomedical Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China
| | - Lichun Han
- Xi'an Daxing Hospital, Xi'an 710016, China
| | - XiuJun Li
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W University Ave., El Paso, TX 79968, USA; Border Biomedical Research Center, Forensic Science, & Environmental Science and Engineering, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 West University Ave., El Paso, TX 79968, USA.
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Feng S, Zhang Q, Xie T, Hou Y, Lin JM. In-situ monitoring calcium signaling through tumor microtubes for single cell-cell communication via an open microfluidic probe. Biosens Bioelectron 2022; 206:114137. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2022.114137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2021] [Revised: 02/23/2022] [Accepted: 02/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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Anggraini D, Ota N, Shen Y, Tang T, Tanaka Y, Hosokawa Y, Li M, Yalikun Y. Recent advances in microfluidic devices for single-cell cultivation: methods and applications. LAB ON A CHIP 2022; 22:1438-1468. [PMID: 35274649 DOI: 10.1039/d1lc01030a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Single-cell analysis is essential to improve our understanding of cell functionality from cellular and subcellular aspects for diagnosis and therapy. Single-cell cultivation is one of the most important processes in single-cell analysis, which allows the monitoring of actual information of individual cells and provides sufficient single-cell clones and cell-derived products for further analysis. The microfluidic device is a fast-rising system that offers efficient, effective, and sensitive single-cell cultivation and real-time single-cell analysis conducted either on-chip or off-chip. Here, we introduce the importance of single-cell cultivation from the aspects of cellular and subcellular studies. We highlight the materials and structures utilized in microfluidic devices for single-cell cultivation. We further discuss biological applications utilizing single-cell cultivation-based microfluidics, such as cellular phenotyping, cell-cell interactions, and omics profiling. Finally, present limitations and future prospects of microfluidics for single-cell cultivation are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dian Anggraini
- Division of Materials Science, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Nara 630-0192, Japan.
| | - Nobutoshi Ota
- Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR), RIKEN, 1-3 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Yigang Shen
- Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR), RIKEN, 1-3 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
| | - Tao Tang
- Division of Materials Science, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Nara 630-0192, Japan.
| | - Yo Tanaka
- Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR), RIKEN, 1-3 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Yoichiroh Hosokawa
- Division of Materials Science, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Nara 630-0192, Japan.
| | - Ming Li
- School of Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney 2122, Australia.
| | - Yaxiaer Yalikun
- Division of Materials Science, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Nara 630-0192, Japan.
- Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR), RIKEN, 1-3 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
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Pang L, Ding J, Liu XX, Kou Z, Guo L, Xu X, Fan SK. Microfluidics-Based Single-Cell Research for Intercellular Interaction. Front Cell Dev Biol 2021; 9:680307. [PMID: 34458252 PMCID: PMC8397490 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.680307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2021] [Accepted: 07/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Intercellular interaction between cell-cell and cell-ECM is critical to numerous biology and medical studies, such as stem cell differentiation, immunotherapy and tissue engineering. Traditional methods employed for delving into intercellular interaction are limited by expensive equipment and sophisticated procedures. Microfluidics technique is considered as one of the powerful measures capable of precisely capturing and manipulating cells and achieving low reagent consumption and high throughput with decidedly integrated functional components. Over the past few years, microfluidics-based systems for intercellular interaction study at a single-cell level have become frequently adopted. This review focuses on microfluidic single-cell studies for intercellular interaction in a 2D or 3D environment with a variety of cell manipulating techniques and applications. The challenges to be overcome are highlighted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Long Pang
- School of Basic Medical Science, The Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Brain Disorders, Xi’an Medical University, Xi’an, China
- Xi’an Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microorganism and Tumor Immunity, Xi’an Medical University, Xi’an, China
| | - Jing Ding
- Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, United States
| | - Xi-Xian Liu
- Key Laboratory of Thermo-Fluid Science and Engineering of MOE, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
| | - Zhixuan Kou
- School of Basic Medical Science, The Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Brain Disorders, Xi’an Medical University, Xi’an, China
- Xi’an Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microorganism and Tumor Immunity, Xi’an Medical University, Xi’an, China
| | - Lulu Guo
- School of Basic Medical Science, The Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Brain Disorders, Xi’an Medical University, Xi’an, China
- Xi’an Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microorganism and Tumor Immunity, Xi’an Medical University, Xi’an, China
| | - Xi Xu
- School of Basic Medical Science, The Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Brain Disorders, Xi’an Medical University, Xi’an, China
- Xi’an Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microorganism and Tumor Immunity, Xi’an Medical University, Xi’an, China
| | - Shih-Kang Fan
- Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, United States
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Lv Y, Lv D, Lv X, Xing P, Zhang J, Zhang Y. Immune Cell Infiltration-Based Characterization of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Predicts Prognosis and Chemotherapy Response Markers. Front Genet 2021; 12:616469. [PMID: 33815462 PMCID: PMC8017297 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2021.616469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2020] [Accepted: 02/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer represents the number one cause of cancer-associated mortality globally. The most aggressive molecular subtype is triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), of which limited therapeutic options are available. It is well known that breast cancer prognosis and tumor sensitivity toward immunotherapy are dictated by the tumor microenvironment. Breast cancer gene expression profiles were extracted from the METABRIC dataset and two TNBC clusters displaying unique immune features were identified. Activated immune cells formed a large proportion of cells in the high infiltration cluster, which correlated to a good prognosis. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) extracted between two heterogeneous subtypes were used to further explore the underlying immune mechanism and to identify prognostic biomarkers. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that the DEGs were predominately related to some processes involved in activation and regulation of innate immune signaling. Using network analysis, we identified two modules in which genes were selected for further prognostic investigation. Validation by independent datasets revealed that CXCL9 and CXCL13 were good prognostic biomarkers for TNBC. We also performed comparisons between the above two genes and immune markers (CYT, APM, TILs, and TIS), as well as cell checkpoint marker expressions, and found a statistically significant correlation between them in both METABRIC and TCGA datasets. The potential of CXCL9 and CXCL13 to predict chemotherapy sensitivity was also evaluated. We found that the CXCL9 and CXCL13 were good predictors for chemotherapy and their expressions were higher in chemotherapy-responsive patients in contrast to those who were not responsive. In brief, immune infiltrate characterization on TNBC revealed heterogeneous subtypes with unique immune features allowed for the identification of informative and reliable characteristics representative of the local immune tumor microenvironment and were potential candidates to guide the management of TNBC patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yufei Lv
- Department of Anatomy, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Dongxu Lv
- College of Bioinformatics Science and Technology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Xiaohong Lv
- Department of Anatomy, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Ping Xing
- Department of Ultrasound, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Jianguo Zhang
- Department of Breast Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Yafang Zhang
- Department of Anatomy, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
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Parlato S, Grisanti G, Sinibaldi G, Peruzzi G, Casciola CM, Gabriele L. Tumor-on-a-chip platforms to study cancer-immune system crosstalk in the era of immunotherapy. LAB ON A CHIP 2021; 21:234-253. [PMID: 33315027 DOI: 10.1039/d0lc00799d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Immunotherapy is a powerful therapeutic approach able to re-educate the immune system to fight cancer. A key player in this process is the tumor microenvironment (TME), which is a dynamic entity characterized by a complex array of tumor and stromal cells as well as immune cell populations trafficking to the tumor site through the endothelial barrier. Recapitulating these multifaceted dynamics is critical for studying the intimate interactions between cancer and the immune system and to assess the efficacy of emerging immunotherapies, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and adoptive cell-based products. Microfluidic devices offer a unique technological approach to build tumor-on-a-chip reproducing the multiple layers of complexity of cancer-immune system crosstalk. Here, we seek to review the most important biological and engineering developments of microfluidic platforms for studying cancer-immune system interactions, in both solid and hematological tumors, highlighting the role of the vascular component in immune trafficking. Emphasis is given to image processing and related algorithms for real-time monitoring and quantitative evaluation of the cellular response to microenvironmental dynamic changes. The described approaches represent a valuable tool for preclinical evaluation of immunotherapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefania Parlato
- Department of Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, Rome, Italy.
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