Dynamic monitoring of receptor tyrosine kinase (rtk) activity and pathways in living cells using real-time microelectronic cell sensing technology

A method of identifying a potential therapeutic compound that affects a Receptor Tyrosine Kinase (RTK) pathway in cancer cells, the method comprising:

• a) providing a device capable of measuring cell-substrate impedance, wherein the device comprises at least two wells, each well comprising an electrode array, further wherein the device is operably connected to an impedance analyzer;
• b) culturing cells embodied as cancer cells in serum-free media in the at least two wells;
• c) adding to a first well a proposed therapeutic compound that affects a RTK pathway and a RTK stimulating factor for the RTK pathway to form a test well, and adding to another well the RTK stimulating factor to form a control well;
• d) continuously monitoring cell-substrate impedance of the at least two wells and optionally determining cell indices from the monitored cell-substrate impedance;
• and
• e) determining a difference in impedance or optionally cell index between the test well and control well;
• and if significantly different,
• f) concluding the proposed therapeutic compound is therapeutically active in the RTK pathway within the cancer cells.