Immunotherapy Modeling in Mice: Tumor Implantation, Processing, and Analysis

TOPICAL COLLECTIONS

Guest Editors

Marta Barisa

University College London, Great Ormond St Hospital, Zayed Centre

Dr. Barisa works with the Experimental Paediatric Oncology and Allogeneic Immunotherapy Research Groups at the Zayed Centre of UCL GOS ICH. She specializes in cancer immunotherapy development, particularly in pediatric solid tumors. The solid tumor microenvironment remains a major obstacle to achieving therapeutic success. Her work evaluates different ways to target and re-polarise the solid tumor microenvironment, including radiotherapy, chemotherapy, checkpoint blockade, and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity. This modulated tumor microenvironment is then targeted with in-house designed gene-engineered cell therapies that include autologous chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-αβT cells and allogeneic CAR- or opsonin secreting (OPS)-γδT cells. Her team aims to build complete preclinical data packages of solid tumor-targeting cell therapy combinatorial approaches for rapid translation into the clinic.

Laura Privitera

University College London, Great Ormond St Hospital, Zayed Centre

Ms. Privitera is currently doing her PhD at the Developmental Biology and Cancer Department at the Zayed Centre of UCL GOS ICH while maintaining clinical activity at the Department of neonatal and pediatric surgery at Great Ormond Street Hospital. Her work focuses on translating innovative intraoperative technologies, like fluorescence-guided surgery (FGS), into pediatric surgical oncology. Surgeons urgently need technologies to enhance tumor detection and help reduce intraoperative complications. Their work focuses on developing and testing the effectiveness of FGS to improve the visualization of primary solid pediatric tumors using cancer-specific injectable fluorescent probes in preclinical models. Our ultimate aim is to translate FGS into the clinical environment to help the surgeon achieve a complete tumor resection and reduce injuries to surrounding major vessels and organs.

Collection Overview

While immunotherapies have revolutionized cancer treatment for various indications, reliable and reproducible pre-clinical modeling remains difficult. This is particularly true for solid tumors, which constitute the vast majority of the cancer patient population and the most significant unmet clinical need. Considered and well-designed mouse models are crucial for advancing solid tumor immunotherapeutic design and clinical efficacy, particularly with the development of increasingly complex immunotherapies. Orthotopic—in contrast to subcutaneous—solid tumor models are particularly suited to address this need as they create a disease-relevant tumor microenvironment that can differ across cancer types. The possibility of close and accurate monitoring of tumor growth, its metastatic activity, and response to chemotherapy can ultimately result in a better translation into the clinic. However, progress is complicated by substantial differences between disease indications, models, and animal backgrounds, often requiring different technical approaches. It is essential that robust animal models, technical protocols, and experiences are shared within the scientific community, enabling higher throughput of high-quality research, reducing cost timelines, and improving the ethical profiles of animal studies. Enclosed are a collection of solid tumor animal modeling protocols, covering areas like tumor cell preparation, engraftment, processing, and subsequent analysis that enable tumor microenvironment and infiltrating immune cell analysis.