scholarly journals RefCell: Multi-dimensional analysis of image-based high-throughput screens based on ‘typical cells’

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Shen ◽  
Nard Kubben ◽  
Julián Candia ◽  
Alexandre V. Morozov ◽  
Tom Misteli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dimensional Analysis ◽  
High Throughput ◽  
High Throughput Screening ◽  
Single Cell Analysis ◽  
Single Cells ◽  
Premature Aging ◽  
Cellular Heterogeneity ◽  
High Level ◽  
High Throughput Screens ◽  
High Throughput Imaging

AbstractBackgroundImage-based high-throughput screening (HTS) reveals a high level of heterogeneity in single cells and multiple cellular states may be observed within a single population. Cutting-edge high-dimensional analysis methods are successful in characterizing cellular heterogeneity, but they suffer from the “curse of dimensionality” and non-standardized outputs.ResultsHere we introduce RefCell, a multi-dimensional analysis pipeline for image-based HTS that reproducibly captures cells with typical combinations of features in reference states, and uses these “typical cells” as a reference for classification and weighting of metrics. RefCell quantitatively assesses the heterogeneous deviations from typical behavior for each analyzed perturbation or sample.ConclusionsWe apply RefCell to the analysis of data from a high-throughput imaging screen of a library of 320 ubiquitin protein targeted siRNAs selected to gain insights into the mechanisms of premature aging (progeria). RefCell yields results comparable to a more complex clustering based single cell analysis method, which both reveal more potential hits than conventional average based analysis.

scholarly journals Application of High-Throughput Flow Cytometry in Early Drug Discovery: An AstraZeneca Perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (7) ◽  
pp. 719-731
Author(s):  
Mei Ding ◽  
Roger Clark ◽  
Catherine Bardelle ◽  
Anna Backmark ◽  
Tyrrell Norris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Flow Cytometry ◽  
Drug Discovery ◽  
High Throughput ◽  
High Throughput Screening ◽  
Single Cells ◽  
Phenotypic Screening ◽  
Antibody Screening ◽  
Structure Activity ◽  
High Level ◽  
Early Drug

Flow cytometry is a powerful tool providing multiparametric analysis of single cells or particles. The introduction of faster plate-based sampling technologies on flow cytometers has transformed the technology into one that has become attractive for higher throughput drug discovery screening. This article describes AstraZeneca’s perspectives on the deployment and application of high-throughput flow cytometry (HTFC) platforms for small-molecule high-throughput screening (HTS), structure–activity relationship (SAR) and phenotypic screening, and antibody screening. We describe the overarching HTFC workflow, including the associated automation and data analysis, along with a high-level overview of our HTFC assay portfolio. We go on to discuss the practical challenges encountered and solutions adopted in the course of our deployment of HTFC, as well as future enhancements and expansion of the technology to new areas of drug discovery.

scholarly journals Ultra-high throughput single-cell analysis of proteins and RNAs by split-pool synthesis

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maeve O’Huallachain ◽  
Felice-Alessio Bava ◽  
Mary Shen ◽  
Carolina Dallett ◽  
Sri Paladugu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Single Cell ◽  
High Throughput ◽  
Single Cell Analysis ◽  
Single Cells ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Cellular Heterogeneity ◽  
Human Model ◽  
Targeted Analysis ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
And Function

AbstractSingle-cell omics provide insight into cellular heterogeneity and function. Recent technological advances have accelerated single-cell analyses, but workflows remain expensive and complex. We present a method enabling simultaneous, ultra-high throughput single-cell barcoding of millions of cells for targeted analysis of proteins and RNAs. Quantum barcoding (QBC) avoids isolation of single cells by building cell-specific oligo barcodes dynamically within each cell. With minimal instrumentation (four 96-well plates and a multichannel pipette), cell-specific codes are added to each tagged molecule within cells through sequential rounds of classical split-pool synthesis. Here we show the utility of this technology in mouse and human model systems for as many as 50 antibodies to targeted proteins and, separately, >70 targeted RNA regions. We demonstrate that this method can be applied to multi-modal protein and RNA analyses. It can be scaled by expansion of the split-pool process and effectively renders sequencing instruments as versatile multi-parameter flow cytometers.

scholarly journals Cryopreservation of human cancers conserves tumour heterogeneity for single-cell multi-omics analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunny Z. Wu ◽  
Daniel L. Roden ◽  
Ghamdan Al-Eryani ◽  
Nenad Bartonicek ◽  
Kate Harvey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Single Cell ◽  
Rna Sequencing ◽  
High Throughput ◽  
Single Cells ◽  
Cellular Heterogeneity ◽  
Tumour Heterogeneity ◽  
Fresh Tissue ◽  
Human Cancers ◽  
Cryopreserved Cell ◽  
Single Cell Rna Sequencing

Abstract Background High throughput single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-Seq) has emerged as a powerful tool for exploring cellular heterogeneity among complex human cancers. scRNA-Seq studies using fresh human surgical tissue are logistically difficult, preclude histopathological triage of samples, and limit the ability to perform batch processing. This hindrance can often introduce technical biases when integrating patient datasets and increase experimental costs. Although tissue preservation methods have been previously explored to address such issues, it is yet to be examined on complex human tissues, such as solid cancers and on high throughput scRNA-Seq platforms. Methods Using the Chromium 10X platform, we sequenced a total of ~ 120,000 cells from fresh and cryopreserved replicates across three primary breast cancers, two primary prostate cancers and a cutaneous melanoma. We performed detailed analyses between cells from each condition to assess the effects of cryopreservation on cellular heterogeneity, cell quality, clustering and the identification of gene ontologies. In addition, we performed single-cell immunophenotyping using CITE-Seq on a single breast cancer sample cryopreserved as solid tissue fragments. Results Tumour heterogeneity identified from fresh tissues was largely conserved in cryopreserved replicates. We show that sequencing of single cells prepared from cryopreserved tissue fragments or from cryopreserved cell suspensions is comparable to sequenced cells prepared from fresh tissue, with cryopreserved cell suspensions displaying higher correlations with fresh tissue in gene expression. We showed that cryopreservation had minimal impacts on the results of downstream analyses such as biological pathway enrichment. For some tumours, cryopreservation modestly increased cell stress signatures compared to freshly analysed tissue. Further, we demonstrate the advantage of cryopreserving whole-cells for detecting cell-surface proteins using CITE-Seq, which is impossible using other preservation methods such as single nuclei-sequencing. Conclusions We show that the viable cryopreservation of human cancers provides high-quality single-cells for multi-omics analysis. Our study guides new experimental designs for tissue biobanking for future clinical single-cell RNA sequencing studies.

High-Throughput Screening to Identify Small Molecules That Selectively Inhibit APOL1 Protein Level in Podocytes

2021 ◽  
pp. 247255522110262
Author(s):  
Jonathan Choy ◽  
Yanqing Kan ◽  
Steve Cifelli ◽  
Josephine Johnson ◽  
Michelle Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Small Molecule ◽  
High Throughput ◽  
High Throughput Screening ◽  
Screening Strategy ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
Protein Levels ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Compound Screening ◽  
High Throughput Screens ◽  
Screening Library

High-throughput phenotypic screening is a key driver for the identification of novel chemical matter in drug discovery for challenging targets, especially for those with an unclear mechanism of pathology. For toxic or gain-of-function proteins, small-molecule suppressors are a targeting/therapeutic strategy that has been successfully applied. As with other high-throughput screens, the screening strategy and proper assays are critical for successfully identifying selective suppressors of the target of interest. We executed a small-molecule suppressor screen to identify compounds that specifically reduce apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) protein levels, a genetically validated target associated with increased risk of chronic kidney disease. To enable this study, we developed homogeneous time-resolved fluorescence (HTRF) assays to measure intracellular APOL1 and apolipoprotein L2 (APOL2) protein levels and miniaturized them to 1536-well format. The APOL1 HTRF assay served as the primary assay, and the APOL2 and a commercially available p53 HTRF assay were applied as counterscreens. Cell viability was also measured with CellTiter-Glo to assess the cytotoxicity of compounds. From a 310,000-compound screening library, we identified 1490 confirmed primary hits with 12 different profiles. One hundred fifty-three hits selectively reduced APOL1 in 786-O, a renal cell adenocarcinoma cell line. Thirty-one of these selective suppressors also reduced APOL1 levels in conditionally immortalized human podocytes. The activity and specificity of seven resynthesized compounds were validated in both 786-O and podocytes.

scholarly journals The trials and tribulations of a robotic screening core

1995 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 55-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Babiak ◽  
Brian Lucotch ◽  
Anthony Russo ◽  
Linda Heydt ◽  
Sharon Williams ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Throughput ◽  
High Throughput Screening ◽  
Customer Relations ◽  
Chemical Compounds ◽  
Screen Design ◽  
Therapeutic Benefits ◽  
Primary Means ◽  
Effective Use ◽  
High Throughput Screens ◽  
Time Frames

It is well recognized within the pharmaceutical industry that high throughput screening is a valuable and rapid tool to identify novel chemical compounds that may lead to tomorrow's drugs. High throughput screening involves testing as many chemical compounds as quickly as possible against a defined molecular or cellular ‘target’ (for example an enzyme) in the hope that interacting compounds may provide significant therapeutic benefits.At Wyeth-Ayerst Research, a Robotics and Automation Research Core Group has been established which serves as the in-house resource for high throughput screening. The robotics group has three missions: (1) develop and perform high throughput screens for customers in all therapeutic departments in the company; (2) educate customers in issues related to screen design; and (3) help customers to bring automated workstations into their laboratories. The mission, therefore, requires the effective use of automation, as well as building a strong collaboration with customers.The challenges that have been faced fall into two categories: technology limiting and customer relations. Technological challenges arise because it is necessary to develop and implement assays with very different formats and biochemical endpoints within extremely shortened time frames. The primary means to meet these challenges is with flexible robotics and flexible people. Challenges in the area of customer relations include setting realistic expectations, maintaining a sense of collaboration (and not merely service), educating investigators as to how to deal with the huge amount of data generated and seeking feedback. Effective and frequent communication, and an awareness of each individual's perspective, are essential to provide the most appropriate service.

scholarly journals Raman-Activated Droplet Sorting (RADS) for Label-Free High-Throughput Screening of Microalgal Single-Cells

2017 ◽  
Vol 89 (22) ◽  
pp. 12569-12577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xixian Wang ◽  
Lihui Ren ◽  
Yetian Su ◽  
Yuetong Ji ◽  
Yaoping Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Throughput ◽  
High Throughput Screening ◽  
Single Cells ◽  
Label Free ◽  
Droplet Sorting

scholarly journals Assay Establishment and Validation of a High-Throughput Screening Platform for Three-Dimensional Patient-Derived Colon Cancer Organoid Cultures

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 931-941 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karsten Boehnke ◽  
Philip W. Iversen ◽  
Dirk Schumacher ◽  
María José Lallena ◽  
Rubén Haro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Colon Cancer ◽  
Drug Discovery ◽  
High Throughput ◽  
High Throughput Screening ◽  
Single Cells ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Compound Screening ◽  
Organoid Cultures ◽  
Screening Platform ◽  
Disease Specific

The application of patient-derived three-dimensional culture systems as disease-specific drug sensitivity models has enormous potential to connect compound screening and clinical trials. However, the implementation of complex cell-based assay systems in drug discovery requires reliable and robust screening platforms. Here we describe the establishment of an automated platform in 384-well format for three-dimensional organoid cultures derived from colon cancer patients. Single cells were embedded in an extracellular matrix by an automated workflow and subsequently self-organized into organoid structures within 4 days of culture before being exposed to compound treatment. We performed validation of assay robustness and reproducibility via plate uniformity and replicate-experiment studies. After assay optimization, the patient-derived organoid platform passed all relevant validation criteria. In addition, we introduced a streamlined plate uniformity study to evaluate patient-derived colon cancer samples from different donors. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of using patient-derived tumor samples for high-throughput assays and their integration as disease-specific models in drug discovery.

scholarly journals High-Throughput 5’ UTR Engineering for Enhanced Protein Production in Non-Viral Gene Therapies

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jicong Cao ◽  
Eva Maria Novoa ◽  
Zhizhuo Zhang ◽  
William C.W. Chen ◽  
Dianbo Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protein Expression ◽  
High Throughput ◽  
High Throughput Screening ◽  
Viral Gene ◽  
Cmv Promoter ◽  
Position Effects ◽  
Gene Therapies ◽  
Integration Strategy ◽  
Combinatorial Assembly ◽  
High Throughput Screens

ABSTRACTDespite significant clinical progress in cell and gene therapies, maximizing protein expression in order to enhance potency remains a major challenge. One approach to increase protein expression is by optimizing translation through the engineering of 5’ untranslated regions (5’ UTRs). Here, we developed a high-throughput strategy to design, screen, and optimize novel 5’UTRs that enhance protein expression from a strong human cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter. We first identified naturally occurring 5’ UTRs with high translation efficiencies and used this information with in silico genetic algorithms to generate synthetic 5’ UTRs. A total of ∼12,000 5’ UTRs were then screened using a recombinase-mediated integration strategy that greatly enhances the sensitivity of high-throughput screens by eliminating copy number and position effects that limit lentiviral approaches. Using this approach, we identified three synthetic 5’ UTRs that outperformed commonly used non-viral gene therapy plasmids in expressing protein payloads. Furthermore, combinatorial assembly of these 5’ UTRs enabled even higher protein expression than obtained with each individual 5’ UTR. In summary, we demonstrate that high-throughput screening of 5’ UTR libraries with recombinase-mediated integration can identify genetic elements that enhance protein expression, which should have numerous applications for engineered cell and gene therapies.

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