Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42701107›Full record

ArticleNPJ precision oncology2026

A pancreatic cancer organoid-macrophage co-culture using starPEG-heparin hydrogel deciphers tumor-immune cell interactions.

Julius Thyen, Victor A Sioson, Daniel Haak, Beatrix Jahnke, Maximilian Fusenig, Abdul M Aftab, Antonia Stammberger, Sascha Brückmann, Heike Polster, Stefanie Hübner and 18 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in NPJ precision oncology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing 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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

28 authors.

Julius Thyen *Department of Visceral, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
Victor A Sioson *Department of Visceral, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
Daniel HaakDepartment of Visceral, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
Beatrix JahnkeDepartment of Visceral, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
Maximilian FusenigLeibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden, Max Bergmann Center of Biomaterials, Dresden, Germany.
Abdul M AftabBiomedical Genomics, Biotechnology Center, Center for Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
Antonia StammbergerInstitute of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
Sascha BrückmannInstitute of Pathology and Tumor- and Normal Tissue Bank of the University Cancer Center (UCC), University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Medical Faculty, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
Heike PolsterDepartment of Visceral, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
Stefanie HübnerDepartment of Visceral, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
Verena J KastLeibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden, Max Bergmann Center of Biomaterials, Dresden, Germany.
Manuel PfeiferInstitute of Legal Medicine, Medizinische Fakultät, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
Rebecca PrauseCore Unit for Molecular Tumor Diagnostics (CMTD), National Center for Tumor Diseases Dresden (NCT/UCC), Dresden, Germany.
Vivian MittnéDepartment of Visceral, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
Carolin BeerDepartment of Visceral, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
Malin H ReinhartDepartment of Visceral, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
Adrian M SeifertDepartment of Visceral, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
Lena SeifertDepartment of Visceral, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
Martin BornhäuserNational Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), NCT/UCC Dresden, a partnership between DKFZ, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, TUD Dresden University of Technology and Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), Dresden, Germany.
Carsten WernerLeibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden, Max Bergmann Center of Biomaterials, Dresden, Germany.
Marc SchmitzInstitute of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
Daniela E AustInstitute of Pathology and Tumor- and Normal Tissue Bank of the University Cancer Center (UCC), University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Medical Faculty, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
Jürgen WeitzDepartment of Visceral, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
Daniela LoessnerLeibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden, Max Bergmann Center of Biomaterials, Dresden, Germany.
Daniel E StangeDepartment of Visceral, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
Anna R Poetsch *Biomedical Genomics, Biotechnology Center, Center for Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
Mathieu Pecqueux *Department of Visceral, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany.
Franziska Baenke *Department of Visceral, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, TUD Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany. Franziska.Baenke@ukdd.de.

Funding

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft 556416293Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space 03ZU2111ABFederal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space and co-funded by the European Commission 01KT2304BGerman Federal Ministry of Education and Research Advanced Clinician Scientist Program CAMINO
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Macrophages are among the most abundant immune cells in the pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) tumor microenvironment (TME) and play a key role in regulating the immunosuppressive niche that facilitates tumor growth. Although recent three-dimensional (3D) culture systems using patient-derived materials have advanced our understanding of tumor biology, most models lack key cellular TME components and thus fail to capture tumor-immune cell interactions. To address this gap, we developed an in-vitro 3D co-culture model incorporating PDAC patient-derived organoids (PDOs) and macrophages within a synthetic hydrogel matrix. We optimized culture conditions by tuning medium and matrix conditions to support both cell lineages. Flow cytometry and transcriptomic analyses revealed that initially undifferentiated macrophages adopt an M2-like profile upon exposure to PDAC PDOs in starPEG-heparin hydrogels, mirroring the macrophage phenotypes observed by multiplex immunohistochemistry in the matched primary PDAC tissues. Cytokine secretome profiling revealed PDO-specific differences, indicating distinct underlying macrophage polarization subtypes. Collectively, our starPEG-heparin hydrogel-based 3D co-culture enables hypothesis-driven and physiologically relevant studies of tumor-macrophage interactions and may advance immune-modulatory treatment strategies in patients with PDAC.

Identifiers

PMID42701107
PMCPMC13546286

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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.