S'pore Scientists Extend Lifespan of Lymph Nodes Outside the Body to Test Vaccines

Singapore researchers have managed to extend the lifespan of lymph nodes outside the body, allowing them to study how the immune system reacts to vaccines and immunotherapies.

- Judith Tan

To do this, the scientists have, once again, used a locally created, tissue-like, bioengineered hydrogel to preserve the lymph nodes for up to seven days, enabling functional studies to be carried out.

The jelly-like hydrogel is made from hyaluronic acid, a water-retentive substance found naturally in human tissues and fluids in the skin, joints, and eyes. Without the hydrogel, a lymph node deteriorates once it is removed from its blood supply and does not "survive" outside the body.

The hydrogel was previously used to preserve cancer tumour cultures for better targeted drug testing outside the body. This was to prevent cancer patients from receiving unnecessary and expensive treatments, or wasting time on therapies that prove to be ineffective.

It was later used in the search for individualized treatment for advanced cancer in the abdominal lining, giving hope to some patients who face an average survival rate of just several months.