Methods and means related to cancer stem cells
AssigneeCambridge Enterprise Limited
InventorToru Kondo
Life of this patent
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Abstract
This invention relates to the methods for the identification and isolation of cancer stem cells from cultured cancer cell lines. Cell line-derived cancer stem cells isolated using the present methods may be useful, for example, in assays to screen compounds for anti-cancer stem cell activity and in target discovery methods for identifying novel expressed genes and druggable targets. The invention also relates to the screening of compounds for activity against cell line-derived cancer stem cells.
Claims16
A method for the identification of a compound that inhibits the growth, viability, and/or proliferation of cell line-derived cancer stem cells in a cancer cell line comprising (i) contacting the cancer cell line with one or more test compounds, wherein the cancer cell line comprises cell line-derived cancer stem cells and tumor bulk;
- (ii) determining the effect of the one or more test compounds on the growth, viability, and/or proliferation of cell line-derived cancer stem cells in the cancer cell line and determining the effect of the one or more test compounds on the growth, viability and/or proliferation of cells from the tumor bulk in the cancer cell line;
- and (iii) comparing the effect of the one or more test compounds on the growth, viability, and/or proliferation of cell line-derived cancer stem cells in the cancer cell line with the effect of the one or more test compounds on the growth, viability, and/or proliferation of cells from the tumor bulk in the cancer cell line,
- wherein a test compound is identified as a compound that inhibits the growth, viability, and/or proliferation of cell line-derived cancer stem cells if it:
- (a) inhibits the growth, viability, and/or proliferation of the cell line-derived cancer stem cells in the cancer cell line but does not inhibit the growth, viability, and/or proliferation of cells from the tumor bulk in the cancer cell line or (b) inhibits the growth, viability, and/or proliferation of the cell line-derived cancer stem cells in the cancer cell line and also inhibits the growth, viability, and/or proliferation of cells from the tumor bulk in the cancer cell line,
- wherein the cell line comprises a detectable reporter that is specifically expressed by the cell line-derived cancer stem cells and not by the cells from the tumor bulk in the cancer cell line,
- wherein the effect of the one or more test compounds on the growth, viability, and/or proliferation of the cell line-derived cancer stem cells and cells from the tumor bulk in the cancer cell line is determined by monitoring the expression or activity of the detectable reporter;
- and
- wherein the tumor bulk comprises cells that are not cell line-derived cancer stem cells.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.