Overview

• The April paper in APL Bioengineering details how Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute and University of Virginia crafted a lymph node-on-a-chip using human stromal cells.
• The model’s stroma comprises fibroblastic reticular and endothelial cells that establish structural pathways for immune cell migration and response studies.
• Comparative tests under inflamed and non-inflamed conditions showed increased interstitial flow and enhanced T cell retention during inflammation.
• Human tissue–based design offers cost savings and improved translational accuracy over traditional mouse models in preclinical research.
• Professor Jennifer Munson’s group is expanding the platform to examine breast cancer spread, Alzheimer’s disease mechanisms, and drug screening protocols.