Mice are the experimental tool of choice for the majority of immunologists and the study of their immune responses has yielded tremendous insight into the workings of the human immune system. However, as 65 million years of evolution might suggest, there are significant differences. Here we outline known discrepancies in both innate and adaptive immunity, including: balance of leukocyte subsets, defensins, Toll receptors, inducible NO synthase, the NK inhibitory receptor families Ly49 and KIR, FcR, Ig subsets, the B cell (BLNK, Btk, and λ5) and T cell (ZAP70 and common γ-chain) signaling pathway components, Thy-1, γδ T cells, cytokines and cytokine receptors, Th1/Th2 differentiation, costimulatory molecule expression and function, Ag-presenting function of endothelial cells, and chemokine and chemokine receptor expression. We also provide examples, such as multiple sclerosis and delayed-type hypersensitivity, where complex multicomponent processes differ. Such differences should be taken into account when using mice as preclinical models of human disease.

The combination of a candidate gene approach, column chromatography, and mass spectrometry identifies several fibroblast-derived proteins essential for endothelial cell sprouting and lumen formation. Furthermore, proteins responsible for EC lumen formation increase matrix stiffness, which correlates with EC lumenogenesis.

The formation of new blood vessels, or angiogenesis, is a complex process that plays important roles in growth and development, tissue and organ regeneration, as well as numerous pathological conditions. Angiogenesis undergoes multiple discrete steps that can be individually evaluated and quantified by a large number of bioassays. These independent assessments hold advantages but also have limitations. This article describes in vivo, ex vivo, and in vitro bioassays that are available for the evaluation of angiogenesis and highlights critical aspects that are relevant for their execution and proper interpretation. As such, this collaborative work is the first edition of consensus guidelines on angiogenesis bioassays to serve for current and future reference.

Multiple steroid receptors (SR) have been proposed to localize to the plasma membrane. Some structural elements for membrane translocation of the estrogen receptor ␣ (ER␣) have been described, but the mechanisms relevant to other steroid receptors are entirely unknown. Here, we identify a highly conserved 9 amino acid motif in the ligand binding domains (E domains) of human/mouse ER␣ and ER␤, progesterone receptors A and B, and the androgen receptor. Mutation of the phenylalanine or tyrosine at position ؊2, cysteine at position 0, and hydrophobic isoleucine/leucine or leucine/leucine combinations at positions ؉5/6, relative to cysteine, significantly reduced membrane localization, MAP and PI 3-kinase activation, thymidine incorporation into DNA, and cell viability, stimulated by specific SR ligands. The localization sequence mediated palmitoylation of each SR, which facilitated caveolin-1 association, subsequent membrane localization, and steroid signaling. Palmitoylation within the E domain is therefore a crucial modification for membrane translocation and function of classical sex steroid receptors.

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Replicating in vitro the complex in vivo tissue microenvironment has the potential to transform our approach to medicine and also our understanding of biology. In order to accurately model the 3D arrangement and interaction of cells and extracellular matrix, new microphysiological systems must include a vascular supply. The vasculature not only provides the necessary convective transport of oxygen, nutrients, and waste in 3D culture, but also couples and integrates the responses of organ systems. Here we combine tissue engineering and microfluidic technology to create an in vitro 3D metabolically active stroma (*1 mm 3 ) that, for the first time, contains a perfused, living, dynamic, interconnected human capillary network. The range of flow rate (mm/s) and shear rate (s -1 ) within the network was 0-4000 and 0-1000, respectively, and thus included the normal physiological range. Infusion of FITC dextran demonstrated microvessels (15-50 mm) to be largely impermeable to 70 kDa. Our high-throughput biology-directed platform has the potential to impact a broad range of fields that intersect with the microcirculation, including tumor metastasis, drug discovery, vascular disease, and environmental chemical toxicity.

There is a growing interest in developing microphysiological systems that can be used to model both normal and pathological human organs in vitro. This “organs-on-chips” approach aims to capture key structural and physiological characteristics of the target tissue. Here we describe in vitro vascularized microtumors (VMTs). This “tumor-on-a-chip” platform incorporates human tumor and stromal cells that grow in a 3D extracellular matrix and that depend for survival on nutrient delivery through living, perfused microvessels. Both colorectal and breast cancer cells grow vigorously in the platform and respond to standard-of-care therapies, showing reduced growth and/or regression. Vascular-targeting agents with different mechanisms of action can also be distinguished, and we find that drugs targeting only VEGFRs (Apatinib and Vandetanib) are not effective, whereas drugs that target VEGFRs, PDGFR and Tie2 (Linifanib and Cabozantinib) do regress the vasculature. Tumors in the VMT show strong metabolic heterogeneity when imaged using NADH Fluorescent Lifetime Imaging Microscopy and, compared to their surrounding stroma, many show a higher free/bound NADH ratio consistent with their known preference for aerobic glycolysis. The VMT platform provides a unique model for studying vascularized solid tumors in vitro.

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