Description

Macrophages (M0, green) are cells that defend our body against foreign threats. M0 can be engineered to attack cancer, but how they attack is unclear. I modeled a solid tumor as a 3D cluster of cancer cells (magenta). M0 both engulfed cancer cells whole (bottom) and ate small bites of the cell (top)

Macrophages (M0) are an innate immune cell that surveil the body for foreign invaders like bacteria. When M0 detect a threat, they eliminate it by engulfing the whole target. This eating behavior has driven the use M0 as a cancer therapeutic. Ovarian cancer has one of the top mortality rates due to late detection and limited therapeutic tools. Thus, we wanted to characterize the anti-cancer potential of M0 in this environment.

Solid tumors are clumps of cells tethered by adhesive molecules. I modeled this cell-dense and adhesive environment in 3D clusters of ovarian cancer cells, labeled in magenta. Upon treating the system with M0, green, I found that M0 rarely pull whole cells out from the tumor for engulfment. Rather, most M0 nibbled off “bite-sized” fragments of the cancer cell.