Co-Culture In Vitro Systems to Reproduce the Cancer-Immunity Cycle

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Oncology
• Biotechnology
• Microfluidics

Background:

• Understanding the cancer-immunity cycle is crucial for developing effective cancer therapies.
• Experimental studies are needed to detail the complex interactions between cancer and immune cells.
• Current methods require optimization for speed, reliability, and scalability in analyzing this cycle.

Purpose of the Study:

• To detail a straightforward protocol for analyzing the cancer-immunity cycle using multiparametric flow cytometry (mFC) and tumor-on-a-chip (ToC) devices.
• To focus on the immunosurveillance aspect of the cancer-immunity cycle.
• To provide a scalable and adaptable method for identifying mechanisms of tumor immune evasion and potential therapeutic targets.

Main Methods:

• Development and application of a combined multiparametric flow cytometry (mFC) and tumor-on-a-chip (ToC) microfluidic device protocol.
• Utilized murine cancer cell lines and mouse-derived immune cells for in vitro co-culture systems.
• Focused on monitoring and characterizing each step of the cancer-immunity cycle, particularly immunosurveillance.

Main Results:

• The protocol enables simple, fast, and reliable monitoring and characterization of the cancer-immunity cycle.
• Successfully identified mechanisms tipping the balance between cancer immunosurveillance and immunoevasion.
• The protocol is time- and cost-effective, making it feasible for large-scale application.

Conclusions:

• The mFC- and ToC-assisted protocol provides critical insights into dynamic cancer-immune cell interplays.
• This approach accelerates the personalization and optimization of cancer therapies.
• The protocol is adaptable for human cell lines and can be combined with genetic/pharmacologic inhibition to identify immune response biomarkers.