Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41690308›Full record

ArticleCell reports methods2026

A 3D multi-compartment assembloid to study combined immune cell infiltration and cytotoxicity.

Eban A Hanna, Ashleigh J Crawford, Wenxuan Du, Adrian Johnston, David Schell, Zeqi Wan, Ting-Hsi Chen, Fan Wu, Kehan Ren, Yeongseo Lim and 3 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Cell reports methods, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Beyond DNA damage: 3D tumor models and the integrin mechanobiology of radioresistance.Journal of experimental & clinical cancer research : CR · 2026
    Review
  2. Review
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Eban A HannaJohns Hopkins Institute for Nanobiotechnology, Johns Hopkins Physical Sciences-Oncology Center, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
Ashleigh J CrawfordJohns Hopkins Institute for Nanobiotechnology, Johns Hopkins Physical Sciences-Oncology Center, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
Wenxuan DuJohns Hopkins Institute for Nanobiotechnology, Johns Hopkins Physical Sciences-Oncology Center, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
Adrian JohnstonJohns Hopkins Institute for Nanobiotechnology, Johns Hopkins Physical Sciences-Oncology Center, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
David SchellJohns Hopkins Institute for Nanobiotechnology, Johns Hopkins Physical Sciences-Oncology Center, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
Zeqi WanJohns Hopkins Institute for Nanobiotechnology, Johns Hopkins Physical Sciences-Oncology Center, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
Ting-Hsi ChenJohns Hopkins Institute for Nanobiotechnology, Johns Hopkins Physical Sciences-Oncology Center, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
Fan WuJohns Hopkins Institute for Nanobiotechnology, Johns Hopkins Physical Sciences-Oncology Center, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
Kehan RenJohns Hopkins Institute for Nanobiotechnology, Johns Hopkins Physical Sciences-Oncology Center, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
Yeongseo LimJohns Hopkins Institute for Nanobiotechnology, Johns Hopkins Physical Sciences-Oncology Center, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Department of Biology, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
Vasco QueirogaJohns Hopkins Institute for Nanobiotechnology, Johns Hopkins Physical Sciences-Oncology Center, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
Praful NairJohns Hopkins Institute for Nanobiotechnology, Johns Hopkins Physical Sciences-Oncology Center, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
Denis WirtzJohns Hopkins Institute for Nanobiotechnology, Johns Hopkins Physical Sciences-Oncology Center, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA; Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA; Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA. Electronic address: wirtz@jhu.edu.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Immune cell-mediated killing of cancer cells in a solid tumor is prefaced by a multi-step infiltration cascade of invasion, directed migration, and cytotoxic activities. Standard in vitro cytotoxicity assays measure immune cell killing in obstacle-free, two-dimensional (2D) microenvironments, which preclude the study of 3D immune cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions. Here, we use a 3D multi-compartment assembloid for the combined study of immune cell stromal invasion and matrix migration, followed by invasion of the solid tumor and subsequent cytotoxicity. We compare this 3D cytotoxicity assay to the benchmark 2D cytotoxicity assay using both unmodified immune cells and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells. This assay is amenable to a range of imaging techniques, allowing for the direct observation and quantification of each stage of infiltration in various immune and oncological contexts. We highlight the value of the 3D infiltration/cytotoxicity assay as an important tool for the mechanistic study of immune cell interactions with the tumor microenvironment.

Indexed as

Cell Culture Techniques, Three DimensionalCytotoxicity, ImmunologicAnimalsCell Line, TumorCell MovementExtracellular MatrixHumansTumor Microenvironment3Dassembloidcell engineeringcell killing assayCP: immunologyCP: stem cellimmunologyinfiltrationin vitrosolid tumortumor microenvironment

Identifiers

PMID41690308
PMCPMC12946747

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.