One-pot formation and functional monitoring of neural cysts and organoids
Eindhoven University of Technology
Netherlands

Three-dimensional (3D) cell spheroids and organoids have presented a new paradigm for studying the fundamental processes behind organ and tissue regeneration, as well as for developing treatments for diseases, in physiologically relevant 3D tissue contexts. However, robust and reproducible generation of spheroids and organoids remain challenging. In this talk, we will discuss several bioengineering approaches that we have developed to obtain neuroepithelial and neural organoids from human induced pluripotent stem cells in a controlled and tunable manner. The engineering-based approaches allow longitudinal monitoring and characterization, and are also shown to be particularly suitable for basic morphogenesis studies and disease modeling of neurodegeneration.

Hetero-spheroids for the study of the cross-talk between tumor cells and CAFs in different metastatic cancer models
University of Milan-Bicocca - Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences
ITALY

Desmoplastic tumors are highly aggressive and difficult to eradicate due to the complex interactions between epithelial cells and microenvironment, which play a key role in stimulating pro-survival and progression programs. The cross-talk between cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and tumor cells, in particular, is responsible for the high invasivity of these tumors and resistance to chemotherapy. Hetero-spheroids obtained by co-culturing fibroblasts and epithelial cells of pancreatic and metastatic breast cancer were developed to determine the molecular and functional changes obtained upon different cell types interaction. The role of some soluble mediators (TGFβ and IL-6) in the cross-talk CAFs-tumor cells has been investigated. Identification of involved mediators and pathways is of great importance for the identification of new therapies against these malignant tumors.

Non-invasive PET-imaging of CAR-T Cell Therapy using DTPA-R, a Novel Reporter Gene System
Technical University of Munich
GERMANY

We developed a novel reporter gene system for non-invasive tracking of Cell-, Viro- and Gene-therapies using Positron Emission Tomography (PET), which consists of a membrane-anchored Anticalin binding protein (DTPA-R) and a corresponding radiohybrid radioligand [18F]F-DTPA. The simple design of the reporter protein with a minimal gene size yields high receptor densities of up to ~1x106 receptors per T cell and highly specific binding of the corresponding radioligand [18F]F-DTPA was proven in preclinical proof-of-principle studies for CAR-T cell therapy. In this studies we quantified proliferation and migration of anti-CD19 CAR-T cells over one month of therapy.

A PIK3CA-mutant breast cancer metastatic patient-derived organoid approach to evaluate alpelisib treatment for multiple secondary lesions
UCBM
ITALY

Breast cancer (BC) is a powerful example of the intra- and interpatient heterogeneity of tumours; thus, there remain several grey areas in BC treatment approaches. This is especially true for advanced/metastatic disease (mBC). Organoid cultures are suitable models for studying the histological complexity and genetic heterogeneity of parental tumours and can be used to assess treatment strategies for challenging diseases such as mBC. Here, we report a proof-of-concept test case using organoid cultures from metastatic BC specimens to rapidly test drug sensitivity and molecular-lesion-driven treatments. Based on the relevant impact of PIK3CA gene mutations on breast cancer progression and resistance to therapy, we assessed the efficacy of alpelisib, a specific PI3K-α inhibitor, on organoid cultures derived from multisite mBC samples carrying specific PIK3CA gene mutations.

Novel single cell sequencing technologies
Singleron Biotechnologies
GERMANY

High throughput single cell sequencing is enabled by Singleron's cutting-edge technology which allows you to study genes and their functions across tens of thousands of cells simultaneously in a single experiment. It offers you essential insights into the samples with high level of heterogeneity and provide you with crucial information on gene expression across a multitude of cell subtypes present in your sample.The applications that go beyond gene expression profiling are gaining on popularity as well, as they enable you to obtain deeper insights on the function of specific genes by adding additional layers of information, such as for instance temporal resolution, to your data.

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