We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us
LGC Clinical Diagnostics

Download Mobile App




Culture-Based High Throughput Screen Detects Potent Anti-Ovarian Cancer Drugs

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 23 Feb 2015
Print article
Image: The micrograph shows a multilayered three-dimensional \"organotypic\" platform for quantitative high-throughput screening to identify new therapeutics for ovarian cancer. Fibroblasts are red. Mesothelial cells are blue. Ovarian cancer cells are green. The square image is the XY-planes (up-down, right-left). The images on the sides are Z-planes (depth) (Photo courtesy of Lengyel laboratory, University of Chicago).
Image: The micrograph shows a multilayered three-dimensional \"organotypic\" platform for quantitative high-throughput screening to identify new therapeutics for ovarian cancer. Fibroblasts are red. Mesothelial cells are blue. Ovarian cancer cells are green. The square image is the XY-planes (up-down, right-left). The images on the sides are Z-planes (depth) (Photo courtesy of Lengyel laboratory, University of Chicago).
Cancer researchers have developed a high throughput system for screening drugs against ovarian tumors that is based on inhibition of cancer cells growing in a three-dimensional culture system.

Most high throughput screening (HTS) assays for drug discovery use cancer cells grown in monolayers despite the fact that the tumor microenvironment is known to contribute to cancer metastasis and drug resistance. To incorporate the tumor microenvironment into the drug screening process, investigators at the University of Chicago (IL, USA) coated the wells of 384- and 1,536-well microtiter plates with a multilayered cellular mixture containing primary human fibroblasts, mesothelial cells, and extracellular matrix. Cultures of fluorescently labeled ovarian cancer cells from three different lines (HeyA8, SKOV3ip1, and Tyk-nu) were added to the wells and then exposed to a library of small-molecule compounds. The numbers of adhering and invasive ovarian cancer cells were counted, and the inhibitory potential of each compound evaluated.

Results published in the February 5, 2015, online edition of the journal Nature Communications revealed that in the initial screen of 2,420 compounds there were 17 compounds that inhibited cell adhesion and invasion by at least 75%. Six of these compounds were active in a dose-response relationship in all three ovarian cancer cell lines, and four compounds significantly inhibited key ovarian cancer cell functions in the early steps of metastasis at low doses. One of the compounds, beta-escin, which is isolated from the seeds of the Chinese horse chestnut, was found to inhibit tumor growth and metastasis by 97%.

"Visualizing how cancer cells interact with a tumor microenvironment that accurately reflects the complex biology of ovarian cancer should help us understand the mechanisms underlying metastatic progression as well as identify new therapeutics that can inhibit this process," said senior author Dr. Ernst Lengyel, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Chicago. "We think this novel screening system has the potential to uncover new, more effective medications that could be targeted more specifically at a patient's cancer."

Related Links:

University of Chicago


Gold Member
Serological Pipet Controller
PIPETBOY GENIUS
Automated Blood Typing System
IH-500 NEXT
New
PSA Test
Human Semen Rapid Test
New
Free Human Prostate-Specific Antigen CLIA
LIAISON fPSA

Print article

Channels

Clinical Chemistry

view channel
Image: The new saliva-based test for heart failure measures two biomarkers in about 15 minutes (Photo courtesy of Trey Pittman)

POC Saliva Testing Device Predicts Heart Failure in 15 Minutes

Heart failure is a serious condition where the heart muscle is unable to pump sufficient oxygen-rich blood throughout the body. It ranks as a major cause of death globally and is particularly fatal for... Read more

Hematology

view channel
Image: The smartphone technology measures blood hemoglobin levels from a digital photo of the inner eyelid (Photo courtesy of Purdue University)

First-Of-Its-Kind Smartphone Technology Noninvasively Measures Blood Hemoglobin Levels at POC

Blood hemoglobin tests are among the most frequently conducted blood tests, as hemoglobin levels can provide vital insights into various health conditions. However, traditional tests are often underutilized... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: Under a microscope, DNA repair is visible as bright green spots (“foci”) in the blue-stained cell DNA. Orange highlights actively growing cancer cells (Photo courtesy of WEHI)

Simple Blood Test Could Detect Drug Resistance in Ovarian Cancer Patients

Every year, hundreds of thousands of women across the world are diagnosed with ovarian and breast cancer. PARP inhibitors (PARPi) therapy has been a major advancement in treating these cancers, particularly... Read more

Microbiology

view channel
Image: HNL Dimer can be a novel and potentially useful clinical tool in antibiotic stewardship in sepsis (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

Unique Blood Biomarker Shown to Effectively Monitor Sepsis Treatment

Sepsis remains a growing problem across the world, linked to high rates of mortality and morbidity. Timely and accurate diagnosis, along with effective supportive therapy, is essential in reducing sepsis-related... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2024 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.