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

该提案寻求为位于加州大学戴维斯分校(UC-D)的生物光子学传感器和系统中心(CBSS)提供资金。基础研究的资金申请是由NSF批准的申请授权的，NSF 11-570。征集邀请研究所/大学合作研究中心提交支持行业定义的基础研究的建议。肿瘤对抗癌治疗的耐药性是进一步提高癌症患者生存的主要障碍。越来越多的实验和临床数据表明，肿瘤干细胞(CSCs)能够自我更新，并与许多人类癌症的侵袭性表型有关，CSCs占肿瘤细胞总数的不到1%。在阐明癌症干细胞的独特特征方面，还有一个尚未得到满足的需求。识别最能描述这类细胞的标记物对于开发更有效的癌症治疗方法至关重要。这项拟议的研究将检测这些标记物在CSC丰富的癌细胞群体中的发展和进化，以更好地识别与肿瘤抗癌治疗和肿瘤转移有关的细胞，并了解癌细胞的增殖。本项目旨在展示基于表面增强拉曼散射(SERS)的新型细胞标记在细胞分裂过程中监测CSC发育的应用。如果成功，拟议的项目将能够追踪CSC的动态变化，以解决这些细胞如何增殖的许多悬而未决的问题。这些信息将对未来靶向治疗的发展非常重要，以抑制癌症生长，并最终提高患者的存活率。I/UCRC的行业支持及其对这一研究项目的积极参与，通过为有才华的工程师和科学家提供通向行业的渠道，提高了研究生教育经验。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，将通过提供行业职业选择、非正式导师和与I/UCRC合作伙伴的实习机会来进一步加强。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，将对了解该病的分子机制产生重大影响，这将影响新疗法的发现。

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.