Method of detecting cell response to cell-damaging energy
AssigneeThe Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Jr. University
InventorsGeorge M. Hahn, Alie H. Saad, Amato J. Giaccia
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method of assessing a cell's susceptibility to cell-damaging energy, such as ionizing radiation and heat, is disclosed. The method is based on measurable changes in voltage-dependent potassium channel currents in the cell in response to the energy. Also disclosed is a method for screening drugs which are effective to sensitize a cell to cell-damaging radiation.
Claims17
A method of assessing the susceptibility of a cell of a known origin to cell-damaging energy, comprising
- exposing a cell from a known origin to an amount of cell-damaging energy effective to increase a potassium channel current in said cell,
- measuring a voltage-dependent potassium current in a cell from the known origin, before and after said exposing, and
- using the change in the measured current before and after exposing, to assess the ability of a cell from the known origin to resist said energy.
A method for screening compounds which are effective to sensitize tumor cells to cell-damaging energy, comprising
- incubating a test compound with a cultured cell that exhibits an inducible voltage-dependent potassium current upon exposure to cell-damaging energy,
- during said incubating, exposing the cell to an amount of the cell-damaging energy effective to increase a potassium channel current in said cell,
- measuring the voltage-dependent potassium current in the cell before and after said incubating, and
- using the change in voltage-dependent potassium current measured before and after said incubating as an indicator of the test compound's ability to block induction of increased potassium currents in response to exposure to cell-damaging energy.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.