Applications and evolution of 3D cancer-immune cell models.

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.

An Engineered Paper-Based 3D Coculture Model of Pancreatic Cancer to Study the Impact of Tissue Architecture and Microenvironmental Gradients on Cell Phenotype.

The spatial configuration of cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME) affects both cancer and fibroblast cell phenotypes contributing to the clinical challenge of tumor heterogeneity and therapeutic resistance. This is a particular challenge in stroma-rich pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Here, a versatile system is described to study the impact of tissue architecture on cell phenotype using PDAC as a model system.

Applications of Omics Technologies for Three-Dimensional Disease Models.

Omics technologies, such as genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, lipidomics, multiomics, and integrated modalities, have greatly contributed to our understanding of various diseases by enabling researchers to probe the molecular wiring of cellular systems in a high-throughput and precise manner. With the development of tissue-engineered three-dimensional (3D) disease models, such as organoids and spheroids, there is potential of integrating omics technologies with 3D disease models to elucidate the complex links between genotype and phenotype. These 3D disease models have been used to model cancer, infectious disease, toxicity, neurological disorders, and others.

Brain Organoids: A New, Transformative Investigational Tool for Neuroscience Research.

Brain organoids are self-assembled, three-dimensionally structured tissues that are typically derived from pluripotent stem cells. They are multicellular aggregates that more accurately recapitulate the tissue microenvironment compared to the other cell culture systems and can also reproduce organ function. They are promising models for evaluating drug leads, particularly those that target neurodegeneration, since they are genetically and phenotypically stable over prolonged durations of culturing and they reasonably reproduce critical physiological phenomena such as biochemical gradients and responses by the native tissue to stimuli.