I/UCRC FRP: Dynamic Imaging of Cancer Stem Cell Proliferation Using Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) Labels

该提案旨在为位于加州大学戴维斯分校（UC-D）的生物光子传感器和系统中心（CBSS）提供资金。基础研究的资金申请由NSF批准的招标（NSF 11-570）授权。征集邀请I/UCRC提交支持行业定义的基础研究的提案。肿瘤对抗癌疗法的抗性是进一步改善癌症患者存活率的主要障碍。越来越多的实验和临床数据表明，占总肿瘤细胞不到1%的癌症干细胞（CSC）能够自我更新，并导致许多人类癌症的侵袭性表型。阐明癌症干细胞的独特特征存在未满足的需求。识别最能描述这一细胞群的标志物对于开发更有效的癌症治疗至关重要。这项拟议的研究将检测这些标志物在CSC富集的癌细胞群中的发展和演变，以更好地识别负责肿瘤对抗癌治疗和肿瘤转移的耐药性的细胞，并了解癌细胞增殖。本计画拟以表面增强拉曼散射（Sers）为基础，应用新颖的细胞标记技术，监测细胞分裂过程中CSC的发展。如果成功，该项目将能够追踪CSC的动态变化，以解决有关这些细胞如何增殖的许多未解之谜。这些信息对于未来开发靶向治疗以抑制癌症生长并最终提高患者生存率将是重要的。I/UCRC的行业支持及其在该研究项目中的积极参与，通过为有才华的工程师和科学家提供一个管道，增强了研究生的教育经验。加州大学戴维斯分校致力于发展STEM领域代表性不足群体的学术潜力，将通过提供工业职业选择，非正式指导和实习与I/UCRC合作伙伴进一步加强。与行业合作伙伴（BD Biosciences）的密切互动将导致与公司直接相关的新生物医学技术的开发。将这项技术专门应用于乳腺癌干细胞研究将对理解疾病的分子机制产生重大影响，这将影响新治疗方法的发现。

This proposal seeks funding for the Center for Biophotonics Sensors and Systems (CBSS) located at the University of California, Davis (UC-D). Funding Requests for Fundamental Research are authorized by an NSF approved solicitation, NSF 11-570. The solicitation invites I/UCRCs to submit proposals for support of industry-defined fundamental research. Tumor resistance to anti-cancer therapy is a major obstacle to further improving cancer patient survival. Accumulating experimental and clinical data suggest that cancer stem cells (CSCs), which comprise less than 1% of total tumor cells, are able to self-renew and are responsible for the aggressive phenotype of many human cancers. There is an unmet need in elucidating the unique features of cancer stem cells. Identification of the markers that best delineate this population of cells is essential to develop more effective cancer treatment. This proposed study will detect the development and evolution of these markers in CSC-enriched cancer cell populations to better identify cells responsible for tumor resistance to anti-cancer therapy and tumor metastasis and to understand cancer cell proliferation. This project proposes to demonstrate the application of novel cellular labels based on surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) for monitoring CSC development during cell division. If successful, the proposed project will be able to trace the dynamic alterations of a CSC to address many unanswered questions about how these cells proliferate. This information will be important for future development of targeted therapies to inhibit cancer growth and ultimately enhance patient survival. The industry support of the I/UCRC and its active participation in this research project enhances the graduate educational experience by providing a pipeline for talented engineers and scientist to industry.. UC Davis' commitment to develop the academic potential of underrepresented groups in STEM fields will be further enhanced by offering industrial career options, informal mentorships and internships with its I/UCRC partners. The close interaction with the industry partner (BD Biosciences) will lead to the development of new biomedical technology of immediate relevance to the company. Application of this technology specifically to breast cancer stem cell research will have a major impact in the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of the disease, which will impact the discovery of new treatments.