Chemotherapeutics and CAR‐T Cell‐Based Immunotherapeutics Screening on a 3D Bioprinted Vascularized Breast Tumor Model

Abstract

AbstractDespite substantial advancements in development of cancer treatments, lack of standardized and physiologically‐relevant in vitro testing platforms limit the early screening of anticancer agents. A major barrier is the complex interplay between the tumor microenvironment and immune response. To tackle this, a dynamic‐flow based 3D bioprinted multi‐scale vascularized breast tumor model, responding to chemo and immunotherapeutics is developed. Heterotypic tumors are precisely bioprinted at pre‐defined distances from a perfused vasculature, exhibit tumor angiogenesis and cancer cell invasion into the perfused vasculature. Bioprinted tumors treated with varying dosages of doxorubicin for 72 h portray a dose‐dependent drug response behavior. More importantly, a cell based immune therapy approach is explored by perfusing HER2‐targeting chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) modified CD8+ T cells for 24 or 72 h. Extensive CAR‐T cell recruitment to the endothelium, substantial T cell activation and infiltration to the tumor site, resulted in up to ≈70% reduction in tumor volumes. The presented platform paves the way for a robust, precisely fabricated, and physiologically‐relevant tumor model for future translation of anti‐cancer therapies to personalized medicine.