DCIS Cell Models for Rapid Therapeutic Screening
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current therapies for premalignant breast lesions like DCIS lack understanding of molecular origins and are inefficient in assessing therapeutic efficacy due to long waiting times for recurrence, necessitating a novel therapeutic target and rapid assessment method.
Innovation Solution
Development of isolated human breast ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) cell populations that form 3-D spheroids, expressing specific markers, and are inhibited by chloroquine, allowing for in vitro and in vivo testing of therapeutic agents to inhibit growth and invasion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional therapies are used for DCIS, then treatment is provided, but therapeutic efficacy cannot be rapidly assessed due to long waiting times
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates in vitro models (cell cultures and organoids) that copy DCIS tissue architecture and behavior. These models allow rapid testing of therapeutic agents without requiring years of clinical follow-up, as the in vitro systems can assess treatment effects on cell proliferation, invasion, and survival within days or weeks rather than years.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent establishes pre-clinical in vitro assessment systems that perform preliminary evaluation of therapeutic agents before clinical deployment. By using DCIS cell cultures and organoids to screen treatments in advance, the system identifies effective therapies rapidly without requiring long-term patient follow-up to assess efficacy.
2Adaptability or versatility
If new therapies are developed for DCIS, then treatment options are improved, but molecular origin understanding is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses in vitro DCIS models as intermediary systems between basic molecular research and clinical therapy. These models preserve molecular characteristics of DCIS while allowing controlled manipulation and observation, enabling researchers to study molecular mechanisms and test therapies without the complexity and ethical constraints of clinical trials.
3Productivity
If autophagy inhibitors are used to treat DCIS, then cell growth is inhibited, but potential toxicity must be managed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs autophagy inhibitors at controlled concentrations in in vitro models to achieve sufficient DCIS cell growth inhibition while maintaining manageable toxicity levels. By testing partial doses in the controlled in vitro environment, the system can optimize therapeutic windows before clinical application.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables rapid evaluation of therapeutic agents and potential treatments for pre-neoplastic breast lesions by inhibiting DCIS cell growth and invasion, providing a novel therapeutic target for premalignant breast cancer.
Implementation Method 1
the cells... are inhibited in formation of 3-D structures and migration by treatment with chloroquine
Data Source
AI summary
Described herein are progenitor cancer cells and cell lines isolated from human breast ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) lesions and the uses of these cells or cell lines in drug design, drug screening, and monitoring in vivo therapy. The DCIS malignant precursor cells or cell lines are epithelial in origin, are positive for markers of autophagy, show at least one genetic difference from normal cells of said fragment, form 3-D tube-like structures or ball aggregates, or are inhibited in formation of 3-D structures and migration by treatment with chloroquine. In one embodiment, there is a loss of heterozygosity (LOH) that is narrowly confined to a region of chromosome 6p (6p21.1-6p12.3) that contains the SUPT3H gene.