In vitro co-cultures of human immune cells and (lung) tumor cells

By using in vitro co-cultures of immune cells and lung tumor cells, we can study and evaluate the immune-activating and/or anti anti-tumor properties of certain treatments. Tumor cell proliferation can be studied with live-cell imaging instruments (IncuCyte, EVOS, ...) and the occurrence of immune activation can be evaluated by measuring immune mediators (IL-2, IFNy, TNFalpha, ...) in the supernatant of the co-cultures with ELISA, MSD or mass spectrometry.

On the first day, tumor cells can be seeded in well plates and can be grown for 24h. Just before addition of the different immune cell types, a cell image of the whole well can be generated. Different immune cell types can be added to the wells and selected wells can be stimulated with a treatment of choice. After 72h of culturing, cell images can be generated and compared to each other to evaluate tumor cell proliferation. Also, the supernatant of each condition can be used to measure immune mediators of interest to evaluate immune activation for each condition separately.