A bioengineered organotypic prostate model for the study of tumor microenvironment-induced immune cell activation.

ABSTRACT: The prostate tumor microenvironment (TME) is strongly immunosuppressive; it is largely driven by alteration in cell phenotypes (i.e. tumor-associated macrophages and exhausted cytotoxic T cells) that result in pro-tumorigenic conditions and tumor growth. A greater understanding into how these altered immune cell phenotypes are developed and could potentially be reversed would provide important insights into improved treatment efficacy for prostate cancer. Here, we report a microfluidic model of the prostate TME that mimics prostate ducts across various stages of prostate cancer progression, with associated stroma and immune cells. Using this platform, we exposed immune cells to a benign prostate TME or a metastatic prostate TME and investigated their metabolism, gene and cytokine expressio

SUBMITTER: Kerr SC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7569006 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature