In vitro cell proliferation assays are widely used in pharmacology, molecular biology, and drug discovery. Using theoretical modeling and experimentation, we show that current antiproliferative drug effect metrics suffer from time-dependent bias, leading to inaccurate assessments of parameters such as drug potency and efficacy. We propose the drug-induced proliferation (DIP) rate, the slope of the line on a plot of cell population doublings versus time, as an alternative, time-independent metric.
We present an integrated method that exploits extended time-lapse automated imaging to quantify dynamics of cell proliferation. Cell counts are fit with a Quiescence-Growth model that estimates rates of cell division, entry into quiescence and death. The model is constrained with rates extracted experimentally from the behavior of tracked single cells over time. We visualize the output of the analysis in Fractional Proliferation graphs, which deconvolve dynamic proliferative responses to perturbations into the relative contributions of dividing, quiescent (non-dividing) and dead cells. The method reveals that the response of “oncogene-addicted” human cancer cells to tyrosine kinase inhibitors is a composite of altered rates of division, death and entry into quiescence, challenging the notion that such cells simply ‘die’ in response to oncogene-targeted therapy.
Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is a commonly used polymer in the fabrication of microfluidic devices due to such features as transparency, gas permeability, and ease of patterning with soft lithography. The surface characteristics of PDMS can also be easily changed with oxygen or low pressure air converting it from a hydrophobic to a hydrophilic state. As part of such a transformation, surface methyl groups are removed and replaced with hydroxyl groups making the exposed surface to resemble silica, a gas impermeable substance. We have utilized Platinum(II)-tetrakis(pentaflourophenyl)porphyrin immobilized within a thin (~1.5 um thick) polystyrene matrix as an oxygen sensor, Stern-Volmer relationship, and Fick's Law of simple diffusion to measure the effects of PDMS composition, treatment, and storage on oxygen diffusion through PDMS. Results show that freshly oxidized PDMS showed a significantly smaller diffusion coefficient, indicating that the SiO2 layer formed on the PDMS surface created an impeding barrier. This barrier disappeared after a three-day storage in air, but remained significant for up to three weeks if PDMS was maintained in contact with water. Additionally, higher density PDMS formulation (5:1 ratio) showed similar diffusion characteristics as normal (10:1 ratio) formulation, but showed 60% smaller diffusion coefficient after plasma treatment that never recovered to pre-treatment levels even after a three-week storage in air. Understanding how plasma surface treatments contribute to oxygen diffusion will be useful in exploiting the gas permeability of PDMS to establish defined normoxic and hypoxic oxygen conditions within microfluidic bioreactor systems.
Summary The analysis of longitudinal trajectories usually focuses on evaluation of explanatory factors that are either associated with rates of change, or with overall mean levels of a continuous outcome variable. In this manuscript we introduce valid design and analysis methods that permit outcome dependent sampling of longitudinal data for scenarios where all outcome data currently exist, but a targeted sub-study is being planned in order to collect additional key exposure information on a limited number of subjects. We propose a stratified sampling based on specific summaries of individual longitudinal trajectories, and we detail an ascertainment corrected maximum likelihood approach for estimation using the resulting biased sample of subjects. In addition, we demonstrate that the efficiency of an outcome-based sampling design relative to use of a simple random sample depends highly on the choice of outcome summary statistic used to direct sampling, and we show a natural link between the goals of the longitudinal regression model and corresponding desirable designs. Using data from the Childhood Asthma Management Program, where genetic information required retrospective ascertainment, we study a range of designs that examine lung function profiles over four years of follow-up for children classified according to their genotype for the IL 13 cytokine.
Key Points Question Is it cost-effective to implement population-wide genomic screening for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC)? Findings This decision analytical model study found that genomic screening for HBOC among unselected women may be cost-effective depending on the age distribution of the women screened. Cascade testing of first-degree relatives added a modest improvement in clinical and economic value. Meaning Population-level genomic screening for HBOC targeting women aged 20 to 35 years could be considered in settings in which the outcomes of screening can be evaluated, particularly to avoid a reduction in mammography screening among patients with negative test results.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.