Ultra-low attachment surface enabling 3D co-culture of human B cells with CD40L-expressing stromal cells for in vitro mimicry of secondary lymphoid organs

Abstract

B cells are critical components of the adaptive immune system that proliferate and differentiate within the secondary lymphoid organs upon recognition of antigens and engagement of T cells. Traditional two-dimensional (2D) cell cultures fall short of replicating the intricate structures and dynamic evolution of three-dimensional (3D) environments found in lymphoid organs, prompting the development of more physiologically pertinent in vitro models. Our approach employs N-hexanoyl glycol chitosan (HGC) coated ultra-low attachment (ULA) lattice plates to cultivate a 3D co-culture of CD40L-expressing MS5 stromal cells and naïve B cells derived from the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of healthy human donors. This unique 3D co-culture of lymphocytes and stromal cells enabled the formation of spheroids in which the intricacies of dynamic cellular interactions within the physiological germinal centers (GCs) are effectively emulated. Head-to-head comparisons of 2D and 3D co-culture systems demonstrated that the 3D co-culture significantly enhances the efficiency in class switching of immunoglobulin receptors and in the differentiation of naïve B cells to an effector B cell phenotype. Notably, the 3D spheroids developed into dynamically evolving spatial organization akin to the dark and light zones found in the physiological GCs. This novel and straightforward 3D co-culture, enabled by a ULA lattice plate, can be used to generate similar 3D co-culture models of various immune cells and stromal cells, and thus has great potential in advancing immunology research and the development of new immunotherapies.