A team led by the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), based at the Barcelona Science Park, and the Hospital del Mar Research Institute has developed the MIRO device (Micro Immune Response On chip), designed to replicate the characteristics of tumours and their environment using patient-derived cells. The study, published in Nature Communications, could help accelerate the development of new personalized immunotherapy treatments for cancer.

The MIRO device addresses a critical gap in the development of treatments against cancer cells. Many therapies show promising results in the laboratory, in vitro, and in mouse models, but they often fail to perform as expected when applied to humans. «MIRO allows us to recreate not only the tumour but also its surrounding environment and its interaction with immune system cells. This relationship is crucial for the success of immunotherapy-based treatments», explains Dr. Anna Labernadie, who designed the microfluidic system during her postdoctoral research at IBEC and now leads the Cellular Behaviour and Tissue Bioengineering lab at the Príncipe Felipe Research Center (CIPF) in Valencia.

The technology has already been tested on HER2-positive breast cancer samples, a type of tumour characterized by high levels of the HER2 protein, which promotes disease progression but can be targeted with specific therapies. However, tests using the MIRO device have demonstrated that the tumour microenvironment significantly influences the effectiveness of the standard treatment for this type of cancer, trastuzumab.

Moving towards personalised treatment

The MIRO device, which has also been tested on other types of solid tumours, such as lung and colon cancer, is manufactured using microfluidic techniques that enable the manipulation of fluids and cells on a very small scale. MIRO can integrate cultures of different cell types, separated into compartments, in order to direct and observe their evolution. The device allows for a detailed recreation and study of the interaction between cancer cells, their connective tissue, and immune responses. «This model enables us to directly test the treatments that would be used in patients», explains Dr. Xavier Trepat, ICREA research professor at IBEC, where he leads the Integrative Cell and Tissue Dynamics group, and a faculty member at the University of Barcelona (UB).

The device’s ability to analyse how different treatments function, detect potential resistance mechanisms, and even identify new biomarkers on an individualized basis for each patient represents a great advance in the design and personalization of immunotherapy treatments in oncology.

Regarding future developments, IBEC, ICREA, and the Hospital del Mar Research Institute have already filed a joint patent application for MIRO technology. «Our goal is to transfer this technology to the pharmaceutical industry and hospitals so that it can be applied to patients», says Dr. Labernadie.

The study is part of Alice Preucca’s PhD thesis at IBEC. Her work focuses on investigating the role of the immunocompetent ecosystem in cancer progression.

The work also included the collaboration of the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), the University of Barcelona (UB), the Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine Networking Biomedical Research Centre (CIBER-BBN), Pompeu Fabra University and the Oncology Networking Biomedical Research Centre (CIBERONC-ISCIII); and has received partial funding from the “la Caixa” Foundation.

» Reference article: Alice Perucca, Andrea Gómez Llonin, Oriol Mañe Benach, Clement Hallopeau, Elisa I. Rivas, Jenniffer Linares, Marta Garrido, Anna Sallent-Aragay, Tom Golde, Julien Colombelli, Eleni Dalaka, Judith Linacero, Marina Cazorla, Teresa Galan, Jordi Pastor Viel, Xavier Badenas, Alba Recort-Bascuas, Laura Comerma, Patricia Fernandez-Nogueira, Ana Rovira, Pere Roca-Cusachs, Joan Albanell, Xavier Trepat, Alexandre Calon and Anna Labernadie. Micro Immune Response On-chip (MIRO) models the tumour-stroma interface for immunotherapy testing. Nature Communications (2025). doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-56275-1

» Link to the news: IBEC website [+]