In Vitro Coculture Model of Immune and Tumor Cells for Immunotherapy Studies of High Mutational Load Tumors

To obtain a better tumor cell killing mediated by cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs), several strategies were developed that might prime tumor-specific T-cell responses. One such strategy is combining the immune checkpoint inhibitors (CPI) blockade with radiotherapy (RT), considering the synergy between these two types of therapies. Here, we present an in vitro experimental model of cocultures of human tumor cell lines (A549 lung carcinoma and SK-Mel-1 melanoma) and immune cells (CTLs), in which CTLs activation is attempted by irradiation of the tumor cells with ionizing radiations and by the treatment of CTLs with an anti-programmed death-1 (anti-PD-1) drug. This model is suitable for studying cellular death, inflammatory responses, molecule expression, and immunotherapy.