Organ‐on‐a‐Chip for Cancer and Immune Organs Modeling

Abstract

Bridging the gap between findings in preclinical 2D cell culture models and in vivo tissue cultures has been challenging; the simple microenvironment of 2D monolayer culture systems may not capture the cellular response to drugs accurately. Three‐dimensional organotypic models have gained increasing interest due to their ability to recreate precise cellular organizations. These models facilitate investigation of the interactions between different sub‐tissue level components through providing physiologically relevant microenvironments for cells in vitro. The incorporation of human‐sourced tissues into these models further enables personalized prediction of drug responses. Integration of microfluidic units into the 3D models can be used to control their local environment, dynamic simulation of cell behaviors, and real‐time readout of drug testing data. Cancer and immune system related diseases are severe burdens to our health care system and have created an urgent need for high‐throughput, and effective drug development plans. This review focuses on recent progress in the development of “cancer‐on‐a‐chip” and “immune organs‐on‐a‐chip” systems designed to study disease progression and predict drug‐induced responses. Future challenges and opportunities are also discussed.

The Biology of Malignant Mesothelioma and the Relevance of Preclinical Models

“…The continuing increase in the knowledge about mesothelial carcinogenesis will permit the use of more pertinent cell models that represent the MM tumor. New approaches not yet used in MM should be explored, including organ-on-a-chip technologies or in silico biological systems using computational modeling and machine learning (120,121). Powerful technological tools should allow researchers to establish models with MM cells that grow in a more accurate tumor microenvironment, and possible in situ molecular analyses of tumor cells.…”

Optimization of Organotypic Cultures of Mouse Spleen for Staining and Functional Assays

“…Studying the response of immune cells within their microenvironment has become a central requirement for the development of personalized immunotherapy-based treatments against cancer (24). It is noteworthy that, among recent technical advances, new miniaturized "organ-on-a-chip" cultures were introduced in an attempt to recapitulate in vitro the organ environment by mimicking blood flow through microfluidic systems (25,26). However, the high costs of this technique preclude its generalized exploitation.…”

Crosstalk between HER2 and PD-1/PD-L1 in Breast Cancer: From Clinical Applications to Mathematical Models

“…Another promising experimental model that can be used to contribute to both empirical, as well as theoretical investigations pertaining to HER2 + BC, is organs-on-chips (OOC). OOC are a novel in vitro platform for aiding the development and testing of therapeutic drugs for cancer [183,184]. Since OOC incorporate multiple cellular and biophysical functional features together, they can recreate tumor microenvironment and its overall interaction to provide much wider insight into the progression of cancer and response to treatment [185].…”