A tumor-on-a-chip for in vitro study of CAR-T cell immunotherapy in solid tumors

Our limited understanding of cancer–immune interactions remains a critical barrier to advancing chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy for solid malignancies. Here, we present a microengineered system that enables vascularization of human tumor explants and their controlled perfusion with immune cells to model the activity of CAR-T cells in the tumor microenvironment. Using vascularized human lung adenocarcinoma tumors, we first demonstrate the ability of our tumor-on-a-chip system to simulate, visualize and interrogate CAR-T cell function. We then test a chemokine-directed CAR-T cell engineering strategy in a model of malignant pleural mesothelioma and validate our findings in a matching in vivo mouse model. Finally, we describe a potential therapeutic target that can be pharmacologically modulated to increase the efficacy of CAR-T cells in lung adenocarcinoma, for which we present biomarkers identified by global metabolomics analysis. Our microphysiological system provides promising in vitro technology to advance the development of adoptive cell therapies for cancer and other diseases.