Conditionally reprogrammed cells as a novel tool for biobanking

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Our recent discovery of conditional reprogramming (CR) to generate cell cultures from human tissues offers new and exciting opportunities for biospecimen repositories. This cell technology makes it possible to rapidly generate cell cultures from surgical specimens and small biopsies, thereby providing an unlimited amount of patient material for genetic and proteomic analysis. However, this technology goes further: it will allow the functional analysis of tumor cells and comparison with the patients' normal cells from the same tissue. In this proposal we will extend and validate aspects of the CR technology and optimize its usage for biobanking. It is important to verify that the genotype and functional responses of CR cells mimics that of the primary tumor and experiments will address these issues using exome sequencing and TruSeq analysis. We will also examine whether the CR cells can predict patient responses to therapies, as we have recently described for a single case in the New England Journal of Medicine. Indeed, we believe that this technology will alter how Pathology departments and tissue repositories freeze patient specimens. Rather than simply quick freezing samples for future molecular analysis, tumor samples will be frozen in cryopreservative, which will additionally permit the generation of cell cultures for diagnostic and therapeutic evaluation.