Breast cancer-on-a-chip for testing immunotherapy drugs

"There are many mechanisms by which the body responds to foreign invaders. One of these involves the T-cells of the immune system, which have a number of different proteins on their surface called 'checkpoint proteins.' These checkpoint proteins bind to proteins on the surface of other cells and can result in either stimulation or suppression of T-cell activity. Normally, surface proteins on foreign or invading cells will produce a stimulation of T-cell activity against these cells, while T-cell suppression is a built-in mechanism to prevent the immune system from attacking the body's own normal cells.
Tumor cells, however, can sometimes outwit the immune system by displaying surface proteins that bind with T-cell checkpoint proteins to cause suppression of T-cell activity. In some cases, interaction of these tumor surface proteins with T-cells even causes the T-cells to rupture. In recent years, scientists have been trying to develop "checkpoint inhibitor" drugs which will counteract these suppressive checkpoint interactions in order to re-activate the body's immune response to tumor cells. One of these drugs is U.S. FDA approved to treat metastatic melanoma; others are available or under development to treat other malignancies...." Lire la suite