Modeling Tumor Immunosurveillance

While cancer immunotherapy has provided unprecedented clinical outcomes in certain settings, only a subset of patients benefit. We are exploring the hypothesis that changes in physical properties, in particular viscoelasticity, of solid tumors alters immune cell phenotype and function. Using biomaterials that allow independent control over key variables, we find that the rate of matrix stress relaxation has dramatic effects on immune cells, including antigen presenting and T cells, and controls cell-cell interactions mediating immune cell responses.

Speaker: David Mooney, PhD, Harvard University