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The Tumor Microenvironment

The Tumor Microenvironment

Every normal cell or tissue is embedded in a complex local environment called stroma, consisting of different cell types, a basal membrane, and blood vessels. As normal cells mutate and develop into cancer cells, their local environment also changes to allow cancer progression. The tumor microenvironment (TME) consists of a complex cellular matrix of stromal cells and the developing tumor. The cross-talk between cancer cells and surrounding stromal cells is critical to disrupt normal tissue...

Tumor Immunotherapy

Tumor Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is a treatment that boosts or manipulates the immune system to fight diseases, including cancer. For instance, by stimulating an immune response through vaccinations against viruses that cause cancers, like hepatitis B virus and human papillomavirus, these diseases can be prevented. Nonetheless, some cancer cells can avoid the immune system due to their rapid mutation and division. The immune response to many cancers involves three phases: elimination, equilibrium, and escape.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Enrichment and Characterization of the Tumor Immune and Non-immune Microenvironments in Established Subcutaneous Murine Tumors

Enrichment and Characterization of the Tumor Immune and Non-immune Microenvironments in Established Subcutaneous Murine Tumors

Published on: June 7, 2018

Engineering "physically optimized" T cells for increased sampling of complex tumor microenvironments.

Hongrong Zhang, Zhongming Chen, Guhan Qian

Biorxiv : the Preprint Server for Biology

|February 9, 2026

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Engineered T cells with optimized physical properties overcome pancreatic cancer

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Last Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Enrichment and Characterization of the Tumor Immune and Non-immune Microenvironments in Established Subcutaneous Murine Tumors

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Published on: June 7, 2018

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Tumor Transplantation for Assessing the Dynamics of Tumor-Infiltrating CD8+ T Cells in Mice

Tumor Transplantation for Assessing the Dynamics of Tumor-Infiltrating CD8⁺ T Cells in Mice

Published on: June 12, 2021

Area of Science:

Oncology
Immunology
Biotechnology

Background:

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is a lethal cancer.
Dense tumor stroma hinders T cell immunotherapy efficacy.
Effective T cell therapy requires direct tumor cell interaction.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a strategy to physically optimize T cells for improved tumor penetration.
To enhance T cell infiltration and engagement in PDA models.
To overcome stromal barriers in solid tumor immunotherapy.

Main Methods:

Modified T cells by expressing constitutively activated RhoA.
Utilized pharmacologic perturbations and mathematical modeling.
Assessed T cell phenotype, migration, and exhaustion markers.

Main Results:

Optimized T cells showed increased cortical contractility, activation, and migration.
Reduced T cell sampling time and increased carcinoma cell engagement.
Enhanced T cell infiltration and distribution in PDA models, improving tumor control.

Conclusions:

Physically optimizing T cells enhances their ability to navigate and engage tumor cells within dense stroma.
This strategy improves the therapeutic performance of engineered T cell therapies in solid tumors like PDA.
RhoA activation offers a promising approach to overcome physical barriers in cancer immunotherapy.