An in vitro clonogenic assay was used to test the chemosensitivity of the human medulloblastoma cell line TE-671. Dose-response relationships for reduction in colony formation were generated for cyclophosphamide, vincristine, Adriamycin, 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (NSC 409962), and 1,4-cyclohexadiene-1,4-dicarbamic acid, 2,5-bis(1-aziridinyl)-3,6-dioxo-diethylester (NSC 182986); and t...

Arsenic trioxide (ATO) has been found to exert anti-cancer activity in various human malignancies. However, the molecular mechanisms by which ATO inhibits tumorigenesis are not fully elucidated. In the current study, we explored the molecular basis of ATO-mediated tumor growth inhibition in pancreatic cancer cells. We used multiple approaches such as MTT assay, wound healing assay, Transwell in...

A culture system was used to analyze the expression of membrane differentiation antigens on the proliferative or clonogenic fraction of cells from cases of common (precursor B) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (c-ALL). Colonies of leukemic cells were obtained in 18 of 20 cases after 1 week in culture in a liquid layer containing recombinant interleukin-2 (IL-2), phytohemagglutinin (PHA), and B-cell...

In vitro tests of tumor cell drug sensitivity have been suggested as a means of selecting more appropriate clinical strategies against human cancer and improving preclinical drug development. The lack of biotransformation in these in vitro assays precludes the meaningful assessment of several major chemotherapeutic agents, including dacarbazine and cyclophosphamide. In vivo drug exposure of tum...

Abstract BACKGROUND Pathway-specific targeted agents have failed to improve outcome in patients with high grade gliomas. Tumor recurrence is driven by glioma heterogeneity and emergence of therapy-resistant subpopulations. We previously reported that metabolic targeting NAMPT, the rate limiting enzyme NAD salvage synthesis pathway, circumvents induces cytotoxicity mitochondrial membrane depolar...

The precise and conceptual insight of circulating endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) kinetics is hampered by the absence of an assay system capable of evaluating the EPC differentiation cascade. An assay system for EPC colony formation was developed to delineate circulating EPC differentiation. EPC colony-forming assay using semisolid medium and single or bulk CD133(+) cells from umbilical cord ...

The following factors must be considered when dye exclusion assays are interpreted. (a) It may require several days for lethally damaged cells to lose their membrane integrity following a cytotoxic insult. (b) During this time, the "surviving" cells may continue to proliferate. (c) Also during this time, some lethally damaged cells may undergo an early disintegration, so that they are not prese...

BACKGROUND Carbon ions ((12)C(6+)) are high linear energy transfer (LET) radiation characterized by higher relative biological effectiveness than low LET radiation. The assessment of tumour radiosensitivity would be particularly useful in optimizing the radiation dose during radiotherapy. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the potential value of the neutral comet assay and γH2AX foci ...

Previous studies have demonstrated that normal mammary tissue contains a hierarchy of cell types that are ultimately and continuously derived from a self-sustaining mammary stem cell population. However, a suitable assay for detecting, quantifying and characterizing such cells in humans has been lacking. Here we show that histologically normal, bi-layered mammary epithelial structures containin...