Synthetic extracellular matrix for assessing and modulating the function of immune cells

The composition of healthy tissues, infected tissues and solid cancers has high complexity. Experimental models to mimic this complexity and to assess and modulate immune cell function are still inadequate. So far, mainly 2D approaches are used to study the interactions of immune cells and infected/malignant cells. These culture systems lack the 3D structure and extracellular matrix components that potentially shape immune cell function. Thus, here we propose to systematically assess and modulate the function of different types of immune cells in fabricated synthetic ECM, where parameters such as density, composition, elasticity, and degradability will be controlled.

All these aspects support the notion that 3D extracellular environments are a key tool for faithful testing the function of cytotoxic immune cells in complex microenvironments, both in the context of tumours and infections. Therefore, we here propose to investigate synthetic extracellular matrices, which are specifically tailored to not only assess the function of immune cells but that can be specifically modified to control their function.