IN VITRO ASSAY OF THE INITIATION OF BREAST CANCER METASTASIS

乳腺癌非常常见，但治疗这种疾病的治疗选择有限。转移是乳腺癌细胞扩散到肺、脑和其他组织的过程，是乳腺癌最危险的方面，但很少有治疗方法抑制这一过程。最近的研究强烈表明，巨噬细胞激活乳腺肿瘤细胞的迁移和早期转移。因此，Vala Sciences提出了一种测定系统来测试化合物对乳腺肿瘤细胞的作用：与转移起始相关的巨噬细胞相互作用。该系统（肿瘤细胞巨噬细胞测定或TCMA）将是高通量的（96孔或更大），并利用高含量的方法（自动定量数字显微镜和细胞图像分析）。对于第一阶段，Vala Sciences将开发用于制备肿瘤细胞（在3-D球状体中生长）和巨噬细胞（分化为M2表型）的方法，用于试验，此外，还将开发进行试验的基本方法，包括建立孔配置、时间过程、缺氧条件、趋化剂的使用以及图像采集和分析的基本方法。

Breast cancer is very common but therapeutic options to treat this disease are limited. Metastasis, the process via which breast tumor cells disseminate to the lung, brain and other tissues, is the most dangerous aspect of breast cancer yet there are few therapeutics that inhibit this process. Recent studies strongly suggest macrophages activate migration of breast tumor cells and the early stages of metastasis. Acordingly, Vala Sciences proposes an assay system to test compounds on breast tumor cell:macrophage interactions relevant to initiation of metastasis. The system (Tumor Cell Macrophage Assay or TCMA) will be high throughput (96-well format or greater) and utilize high content methods (automated quantitative digital microscopy and cell image analysis). For PhaseI, Vala Sciences will develop methods for preparing the tumor cells (grown in 3-D spheroids) and macrophages (differentiated to the M2 phenotype) for use in the assay, and, additionally, develop the basic methods for conducting the assay, including establishing the well configuration, time-course, hypoxic conditions, use of chemotaxic agents, and the basic methods for image acquisition and analysis.