Engineered cell-based therapies in ex vivo ready-made CellDex capsules have therapeutic efficacy in solid tumors.

ABSTRACT: Encapsulated cell-based therapies for solid tumors have shown promising results in pre-clinical settings. However, the inability to culture encapsulated therapeutic cells prior to their transplantation has limited their translation into clinical settings. In this study, we created a wide variety of engineered therapeutic cells (ThC) loaded in micropore-forming gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogel (CellDex) capsules that can be cultured in vitro prior to their transplantation in surgically debulked solid tumors. We show that both allogeneic and autologous engineered cells, such as stem cells (SCs), macrophages, NK cells, and T cells, proliferate within CellDex capsules and migrate out of the gel in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, tumor cell specific therapeutic proteins and oncolytic virus

SUBMITTER: van Schaik TA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10165501 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature