Reconstituting Fundamentals of Bacteria Mediated Cancer Therapy On A Chip

This paper reports a microfluidic platform tailored for emulating fundamentals of bacteria-mediated cancer therapy (BMCT). Specifically, we attempted to replicate the basic features of the bacteria-colonized tumor microenvironment and the accompanying immune response in a single well of the device. The effects of bacterial infection or stimulation on tumor spheroids were observed to experimentally examine bacteria’s innate antitumor cytotoxicity and potential as a therapeutic agent carrier in vitro. Consequently, we observed enhanced dead signals as well as decreased stemness of tumor spheroids as a result of bacterial cytotoxicity and IFN-β secretion, respectively. Furthermore, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay results from cell culture media indicative of co-cultured macrophage’s M1 polarization demonstrated bacteria’s potential for immune-activating adjuvant. Our device, with a user-friendly platform leveraging spontaneous capillary, will offer a chance to scrutinize BMCT at cellular and tissue levels.