Date:
Location:
Guest speakers:
Dennis Sgroi
Professor of Pathology, HMS
and
Biju Parekkadan
Assistant Professor of Surgery, MGH
"Microprinted models to probe the human tumor microenvironment"
Abstract:
Tumor-stromal interactions are a determining factor in cancer progression. Here we present clinical evidence of heterogeneous gene expression in the epithelial and stromal compartments of patient biopsies where highly enriched subpopulations of cells were isolated by laser capture microdissection. We then established a microprinted tumor-stromal assay (mTSA) to recreate the spatial location of cells in cell culture to model and probe bulk and interfacial tumor-stromal signaling. mTSA validated a heterotypic spatial distribution of cell gene expression and new mechanisms of action of drug activity relative to the tumor-stroma interface. mTSA can serve as a platform for studying tumor microenvironmental interactions and cancer field effects with applications in drug discovery and development.