Applications and evolution of 3D cancer-immune cell models

Ileana L Co; Aleksandra Fomina; Michelle Nurse; Alison P McGuigan

doi:10.1016/j.tibtech.2024.06.008

Applications and evolution of 3D cancer-immune cell models

Trends Biotechnol. 2024 Dec;42(12):1615-1627. doi: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2024.06.008. Epub 2024 Jul 17.

Authors

Ileana L Co¹, Aleksandra Fomina¹, Michelle Nurse², Alison P McGuigan³

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, 164 College St., Toronto, ON, M5S 3G9, Canada.
² Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, 200 College St., Toronto, ON, M5S 3E5, Canada.
³ Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, 164 College St., Toronto, ON, M5S 3G9, Canada; Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, 200 College St., Toronto, ON, M5S 3E5, Canada. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 39025680
DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2024.06.008

Abstract

Understanding the highly complex tumor-immune landscape is an important goal for developing novel immune therapies for solid cancers. To this end, 3D cancer-immune models have emerged as patient-relevant in vitro tools for modeling the tumor-immune landscape and the cellular interactions within it. In this review, we provide an overview of the components and applications of 3D cancer-immune models and discuss their evolution from 2015 to 2023. Specifically, we observe trends in primary cell-sourced, T cell-based complex models used for therapy evaluation and biological discovery. Finally, we describe the challenges of implementing 3D cancer-immune models and the opportunities for maximizing their potential for deciphering the complex tumor-immune microenvironment and identifying novel, clinically relevant drug targets.

Keywords: 3D in vitro models; immune cells; immunotherapy; patient-derived organoids; tumor microenvironment.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Animals
Cell Culture Techniques, Three Dimensional / methods
Humans
Immunotherapy / methods
Models, Biological
Neoplasms* / immunology
Neoplasms* / pathology
Neoplasms* / therapy
T-Lymphocytes / immunology
Tumor Microenvironment* / immunology