scholarly journals A small molecule screen identified N-Acetyl-L-cysteine for promoting ex vivo growth of single circulating tumor cells

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teng Teng ◽  
Mohamed Kamal ◽  
Oihana Iriondo ◽  
Yonatan Amzaleg ◽  
Chunqiao Luo ◽  
...  

AbstractCirculating tumor cells (CTCs) can be isolated via a minimally invasive blood draw and are considered a “liquid biopsy” of their originating solid tumors. CTCs contain a small subset of metastatic precursors that can form metastases in secondary organs, and provide a resource to identify mechanisms underlying metastasis-initiating properties. Despite technological advancements that allow for highly sensitive approaches of detection and isolation, CTCs are very rare and often present as single cells, posing an extreme challenge for ex vivo expansion after isolation. Here, using previously established patient-derived CTC lines, we performed a small molecule drug screening to identify compounds that can improve ex vivo culture efficiency for single CTCs. We found that N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and other antioxidants can promote ex vivo expansion of single CTCs, by reducing oxidative and other stress particularly at the initial stage of single cell expansion. RNA-seq analysis of growing clones and non-growing clones confirmed the effect by NAC, but also indicate that NAC-induced decrease in oxidative stress is insufficient for promoting proliferation of a subset of cells with heterogeneous quiescent and senescent features. Despite the challenge in expanding all CTCs, NAC treatment lead to establishment of single CTC clones that have similar tumorigenic features, which will facilitate future functional analyses.

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Kamal ◽  
Shahin Saremi ◽  
Remi Klotz ◽  
Oihana Iriondo ◽  
Yonatan Amzaleg ◽  
...  

AbstractCirculating tumor cells (CTCs) shed from solid tumors can serve as a minimally invasive liquid biopsy for monitoring disease progression. Because CTCs are rare and heterogeneous, their biological properties need to be investigated at the single cell level, which requires efficient ways to isolate and analyze live single CTCs. Current methods for CTC isolation and identification are either performed on fixed and stained cells or need multiple procedures to isolate pure live CTCs. Here, we used the AccuCyte-RareCyte system to develop a Protocol for Integrated Capture and Retrieval of Ultra-pure single live CTCs using Negative and positive selection (PIC&RUN). The positive selection module of PIC&RUN identifies CTCs based on detection of cancer surface markers and exclusion of immune markers. Combined with a two-step cell picking protocol to retrieve ultrapure single CTCs, the positive selection module is compatible for downstream single cell transcriptomic analysis. The negative selection module of PIC&RUN identifies CTCs based on a live cell dye and the absence of immune markers, allowing retrieval of viable CTCs that are suitable for ex vivo culture. This new assay combines the CTC capture and retrieval in one integrated platform, providing a valuable tool for downstream live CTC analyses.


2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 5030-5030
Author(s):  
Allison Welsh ◽  
Daniel Costin Danila ◽  
Aseem Anand ◽  
Jude Kendall ◽  
Charles L. Sawyers ◽  
...  

5030 Background: Circulating tumor cells (CTC) provide an opportunity to sample multiple metastatic tumor sites through a single blood draw – a ”fluid biopsy.” NextGen DNA sequencing provides the means to obtain detailed genetic information from captured cells prior to and during treatment. Here we demonstrate the use of DNA sequencing to interrogate genome-wide copy number variations (CNV) at the single-cell level in CTC isolated from pts with CRPC. Methods: Pre- and post-treatment blood samples were obtained from pts treated at MSKCC. EpCAM+ events were collected singly and in groups by cytometric flow sorting and were subjected to DNA amplification and Illumina NextGeneration sequencing. Parallel samples were assayed using the Veridex CellSearch method to ensure the presence of malignant cells. Results: Samples with up to 50 EpCAM+ events analyzed in bulk displayed CNV patterns expected from published CRPC data. Subsequent single cell analyses showed that the method could reliably detect common genomic markers in CRPC, including AR amplification, PTEN and RB1 loss, and the TMPRSS-ERG fusion. Individual genomic CNV profiles obtained from 125 single cells isolated from 15 patients were then analyzed. Using unsupervised clustering, cells from each pt showed a closely related lineage structure, consistent with an evolution from a common ancestor. The degree of genomic heterogeneity within CTC from an individual pt was highly variable, with R2 correlation coefficients ranging from >0.92 (nearly homogeneous) to <0.75 (mixed populations). Two pts harbored separate subpopulations with both amplified AR and non-amplified AR cells and another displayed mixtures of genetic markers that changed over the course of treatment. Conclusions: The observed variation in complexity of CTC populations in CRPC pts underscores the importance of being able to sample and analyze multiple cells from an individual pt on multiple occasions and with real time analytics. Doing so is essential to understand and identify mechanisms of resistance so that they can be targeted effectively. Supported by STARR Cancer Consortium, NCI SPORE in Prostate Cancer; Department of Defense; Prostate Cancer Foundation.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 2723
Author(s):  
Yu-Ping Yang ◽  
Teresa M. Giret ◽  
Richard J. Cote

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have been recognized as a major contributor to distant metastasis. Their unique role as metastatic seeds renders them a potential marker in the circulation for early cancer diagnosis and prognosis as well as monitoring of therapeutic response. In the past decade, researchers mainly focused on the development of isolation techniques for improving the recovery rate and purity of CTCs. These developed techniques have significantly increased the detection sensitivity and enumeration accuracy of CTCs. Currently, significant efforts have been made toward comprehensive molecular characterization, ex vivo expansion of CTCs, and understanding the interactions between CTCs and their associated cells (e.g., immune cells and stromal cells) in the circulation. In this review, we briefly summarize existing CTC isolation technologies and specifically focus on advances in downstream analysis of CTCs and their potential applications in precision medicine. We also discuss the current challenges and future opportunities in their clinical utilization.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 100265
Author(s):  
N. Carmona-Ule ◽  
C. Abuín-Redondo ◽  
C. Costa ◽  
R. Piñeiro ◽  
T. Pereira-Veiga ◽  
...  

Lung ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 193 (3) ◽  
pp. 451-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerhard Hamilton ◽  
Otto Burghuber ◽  
Robert Zeillinger

Author(s):  
Jacob Amontree ◽  
Kangfu Chen ◽  
Jose Varillas ◽  
Z. Hugh Fan

The characterization of single cells within heterogeneous populations has great impact on both biomedical sciences and cancer research. By investigating cellular compositions on a broad scale, pertinent outliers may be lost in the sample set. Alternatively, an investigation focused on the behavior of specific cells, such as circulating tumor cells (CTCs), will reveal genetic biomarkers or phenotypic characteristics associated with cancer and metastasis. On average, CTC concentration in peripheral blood is extremely low, as few as one to two per billion of healthy blood cells. Consequently, the critical element lacking in many methods of CTC detection is accurate cell capture efficiency at low concentrations. To simulate CTC isolation, researchers usually spike small amounts of tumor cells to healthy blood for separation. However, spiking tumor cells at extremely low concentrations is challenging in a standard laboratory setting. We report our study on an innovative apparatus and method designed for low-cost, precise, and replicable single-cell spiking (SCS). Our SCS method operates solely from capillary aspiration without the reliance on external laboratory equipment. To ensure that our method does not affect the viability of each cell, we investigated the effects of surface membrane tensions induced by aspiration. Finally, we performed affinity-based CTC isolation using human acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells (CCRF-CEM) spiked into healthy whole blood with the SCS technique. The results of the isolation experiments demonstrate the reliability of our method in generating low-concentration cell samples.


2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 10537-10537
Author(s):  
Dawid Murawa ◽  
Stefanie Herold ◽  
Phillip Sangwook Kim ◽  
Arndt Schmitz ◽  
Thomas Krahn ◽  
...  

10537 Background: In BC, the number of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is discussed as a prognostic and stratification biomarker, and could also reflect treatment efficacy. Currently, CTCs are isolated ex vivo from a small volume of blood. Results from a larger volume of blood are scarce. The aim of the study was to assess a functionalized and structured medical wire (FSMW) for in vivo capturing of CTCs directly from the blood stream of BC patients. Methods: The device was inserted in a cubital vein through a standard cannula for thirty minutes. The interaction of target CTCs with the FSMW was mediated by antibodies directed against the epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM). To confirm binding of CTCs to the wire, the immunohistochemical positive staining against EpCAM as well as negative staining for CD45 was performed. There were 54 applications of the wire in 42 stage I-IV BC patients (12 double applications). Enumeration data from 37 BC patients with 49 applications (5 failed subsequent analyses) were assessed. CTC counts on 23 devices were directly compared to counts by CellSearch. Results: The device was well tolerated in all 54 applications without side effects. We obtained in vivo isolation of CTCs in 44 of 49 applications to BC patients (89.7 %). The sensitivity was similar for early and late stage BC patients. The median (range) of isolated EpCAM-positive CTCs was 5 (0-515). The CellSearch method reached a sensitivity of 18.5%. In all paired samples the number of CTCs detected with the FSMW was higher or equal to CellSearch, regardless of the disease stage. Linear regression of the data of the double application of the FSMW showed a very good concordance (r2 = 0.97, p<0.0001). Conclusions: Whilst well tolerated without side effects, the CTC detection rate of the FSMW in BC patients was nearly 90 %. CTC detection was obtained in 18.5% by the CellSearch. Double application of FSMWs in the same patient indicates ample precision. This proof of concept study may have important clinical implications, as the device may improve early detection, prognosis and therapy monitoring of BC patients. The molecular analysis of the captured CTCs could become a breakthrough in personalized medicine.


2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 731-741 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sai Mun Leong ◽  
Karen Mei-Ling Tan ◽  
Hui Wen Chua ◽  
Mo-Chao Huang ◽  
Wai Chye Cheong ◽  
...  

Abstract BACKGROUND Molecular characterization of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) holds great promise for monitoring metastatic progression and characterizing metastatic disease. However, leukocyte and red blood cell contamination of routinely isolated CTCs makes CTC-specific molecular characterization extremely challenging. METHODS Here we report the use of a paper-based medium for efficient extraction of microRNAs (miRNAs) from limited amounts of biological samples such as rare CTCs harvested from cancer patient blood. Specifically, we devised a workflow involving the use of Flinders Technology Associates (FTA)® Elute Card with a digital PCR-inspired “partitioning” method to extract and purify miRNAs from plasma and CTCs. RESULTS We demonstrated the sensitivity of this method to detect miRNA expression from as few as 3 cancer cells spiked into human blood. Using this method, background miRNA expression was excluded from contaminating blood cells, and CTC-specific miRNA expression profiles were derived from breast and colorectal cancer patients. Plasma separated out during purification of CTCs could likewise be processed using the same paper-based method for miRNA detection, thereby maximizing the amount of patient-specific information that can be derived from a single blood draw. CONCLUSIONS Overall, this paper-based extraction method enables an efficient, cost-effective workflow for maximized recovery of small RNAs from limited biological samples for downstream molecular analyses.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jialing Liu ◽  
Jingru Lian ◽  
Yafei Chen ◽  
Xin Zhao ◽  
ChangZheng Du ◽  
...  

Late-stage cancer metastasis remains incurable in the clinic and is the major cause death in patients. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are thought to be metastatic precursors shed from the primary tumor or metastatic deposits and circulate in the blood. The molecular network regulating CTC survival, extravasation, and colonization in distant metastatic sites is poorly defined, largely due to challenges in isolating rare CTCs. Recent advances in CTC isolation and ex vivo culture techniques facilitates single-cell omics and the development of related animal models to study CTC-mediated metastatic progression. With these powerful tools, CTCs can potentially be used as non-invasive biomarkers predicting therapeutic response. These studies may open a new avenue for CTC-specific drug discoveries. In this short review, we aim to summarize recent progress in the characterization of CTCs and their clinical relevance in various cancers, setting the stage for realizing personalized therapies against metastases.


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