SEMINAR: Dr. Anna Labernadie

17sep12:3013:30SEMINAR: Dr. Anna LabernadieMechanobiology of the tumour microenvironment driving cancer spreading and immune cells trafficking

Event Details

Mechanobiology of the tumour microenvironment driving cancer spreading and immune cells trafficking

Anna Labernadie

Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia, Parc Científic de Barcelona (PCB) Edifici Clúster c/ Baldiri Reixac 10-12, Barcelona, Spain

The tumor microenvironment (TME) is a complex array of cellular and non-cellular components including cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs), blood vessels, immune cells and the extracellular matrix (ECM) that tightly interact with cancer cells. Increasing evidence reveals that physical interactions, as importantly as chemical crosstalk, can drive tumour dissemination and immunotherapy resistance.

In the first part of the presentation, we will focus on the role of TME in tumour spreading. Using combined biophysical techniques and molecular tools we demonstrated the existence of force transmission between cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and cancer cells mediated by a heterophilic junction between E-cadherin expressed by cancer cells and N-cadherin expressed by CAFs. We discovered that this adhesion was mechanically active and enables CAFs to guide collective cell migration and initiate cancer cell invasion. The second part of the talk will focus on the role of the TME in cancer immunotherapy outcomes. I will present our newly designed Micro Immunotherapy Response On-chip (MIRO) model that enables to recapitulate in vivo traits of the stromal barrier and allow to assess immunotherapy efficacy through multiscale approaches. Using a HER2+ breast tumour model we show that the use of MIRO allows to monitor immune infiltration through the stromal barrier and quantify Antibody-Dependent Cellular Cytotoxicity (ADCC) response upon drug treatment. Our study reveals that MIRO could offer a versatile tool to unveil fundamental features of the TME driving immune response, and a promising preclinical tool for precision medicine.

Time

(Friday) 12:30 - 13:30(GMT+02:00)

Location

Centro de Investigación Príncipe Felipe

Eduardo Primo Yúfera, 3 Valencia Spain

Health Guidelines for this Event

Masks Required
Physical Distance Maintained
Event Area Sanitized