Research from the US shows that a new lymph-node-on-a-chip can replicate age-dependent immune responses to cancer vaccines, providing a more accurate testing platform. 

Cancer is usually diagnosed in older people, but preclinical cancer vaccine testing often uses simplified cell cultures that don’t reflect immune system changes that occur with ageing, a process called immunosenescence.  Researchers at the Terasaki Institute, California, have developed an organ-on-a-chip based on part of a lymph node called the paracortex. Lymph nodes are immune organs that contain white blood cells, including immune T cells. Cancer vaccines activate T cells by presenting cancer molecules called antigens, which enable T cells to recognise and attack cancer cells. 

To understand how ageing affects these steps, the team tested the chip using immune cells from both younger and older adults, with a complexity much superior to 2D cultures. They found that immune cells from younger donors were better at presenting vaccine antigens, had stronger T cell activation and were more effective at killing cancer cells.  

Vadim Jucaud, from the Terasaki Institute and leader of the study published at Lab on a Chip, says, “This advanced system replicates age-related immune responses, which is critical because older adults face the highest cancer risk and often have diminished immunity. By accurately modelling these conditions in vitro, our platform enables more reliable insights into cancer vaccine performance, therefore accelerating development and improving outcomes.”