3D-Printed Lymph Node Models Improve CAR T-Cell Reprogramming to 75% in Lab Tests

Judit Guasch Camell and colleagues at the Materials Science Institute of Barcelona 3D-printed a gel that forms structures resembling the texture and arrangement of human lymph nodes. They presented the work at the Biophysical immunoengineering conference at The Royal Society in London earlier this month.

The team placed human T-cells, a virus carrying a cancer-specific chimeric antigen receptor gene, and activation beads inside the printed structures.

Parallel tests used conventional flat plastic dishes. After five days, 75 percent of the T-cells in the 3D structures had become CAR T-cells, compared with 50 percent in the dishes. T-cells also multiplied roughly twice as fast inside the lymph-node-like gels.

Standard production normally requires about a month and succeeds in reprogramming only 30 to 70 percent of the cells. Guasch Camell said T-cells respond to the physical properties of lymph nodes, cues absent from flat plastic surfaces used in current methods. The higher yield and faster growth could reduce the volume of costly reagents and shorten the time patients wait for treatment.

One round of existing CAR T-cell therapy costs more than £280,000, limiting access mainly to wealthier nations. David Coe of CoED Biosciences in Cardiff, who was not involved in the study, said the lymph-node approach might lower both material and labor expenses.

Gillian Griffiths of the University of Cambridge, also not involved, said the method represents a step toward making immunotherapies available in lower- and middle-income countries.

Coe added that further work is required to determine how readily and at what exact cost the technique can be scaled.