Browsing by Author "Pompano, Rebecca R."

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    Modeling Immunity In Vitro: Slices, Chips, and Engineered Tissues
    Hammel, Jennifer H.; Cook, Sophie R.; Belanger, Maura C.; Munson, Jennifer M.; Pompano, Rebecca R. (Annual Reviews, 2021-07)
    Modeling immunity in vitro has the potential to be a powerful tool for investigating fundamental biological questions, informing therapeutics and vaccines, and providing new insight into disease progression. There are two major elements to immunity that are necessary to model: primary immune tissues and peripheral tissues with immune components. Here, we systematically review progress made along three strategies to modeling immunity: ex vivo cultures, which preserve native tissue structure; microfluidic devices, which constitute a versatile approach to providing physiologically relevant fluid flow and environmental control; and engineered tissues, which provide precise control of the 3D microenvironment and biophysical cues. While many models focus on disease modeling, more primary immune tissue models are necessary to advance the field. Moving forward, we anticipate that the expansion of patient-specific models may inform why immunity varies from patient to patient and allow for the rapid comprehension and treatment of emerging diseases, such as coronavirus disease 2019.
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    Platinum Chemotherapy Induces Lymphangiogenesis in Cancerous and Healthy Tissues That Can be Prevented With Adjuvant Anti-VEGFR3 Therapy
    Harris, Alexandra R.; Esparza, Savieay; Azimi, Mohammad S.; Cornelison, Robert; Azar, Francesca N.; Llaneza, Danielle C.; Belanger, Maura; Mathew, Alexander; Tkachenko, Svyatoslav; Perez, Matthew J.; Rosean, Claire Buchta; Bostic, Raegan R.; Cornelison, R. Chase; Tate, Kinsley M.; Peirce-Cottler, Shayn M.; Paquette, Cherie; Mills, Anne; Landen, Charles N.; Saucerman, Jeff; Dillon, Patrick M.; Pompano, Rebecca R.; Rutkowski, Melanie A.; Munson, Jennifer M. (Frontiers, 2022-03-17)
    Chemotherapy has been used to inhibit cancer growth for decades, but emerging evidence shows it can affect the tumor stroma, unintentionally promoting cancer malignancy. After treatment of primary tumors, remaining drugs drain via lymphatics. Though all drugs interact with the lymphatics, we know little of their impact on them. Here, we show a previously unknown effect of platinums, a widely used class of chemotherapeutics, to directly induce systemic lymphangiogenesis and activation. These changes are dose-dependent, long-lasting, and occur in healthy and cancerous tissue in multiple mouse models of breast cancer. We found similar effects in human ovarian and breast cancer patients whose treatment regimens included platinums. Carboplatin treatment of healthy mice prior to mammary tumor inoculation increased cancer metastasis as compared to no pre-treatment. These platinum-induced phenomena could be blocked by VEGFR3 inhibition. These findings have implications for cancer patients receiving platinums and may support the inclusion of anti-VEGFR3 therapy into treatment regimens or differential design of treatment regimens to alter these potential effects.