Application of electric cell-substrate impedance sensing toward personalized anti-cancer therapeutic selection

Abstract

Background: Cell-based analysis may have the potential for using patient-derived tissues/cells as a basis for a more direct prediction of therapeutic outcomes. Methods: This study focused on the application of the Real Time Cell Electronic Sensing (RT-CES) system for screening effective anticancer drugs to different types of prostate cancers. The goal was to demonstrate the potential application of such technology toward the suitability in selection of personalized medicine. Three prostate cancer cell lines, DU145, LNCaP, and PC-3, and a normal prostate cell line were used. Docetaxel, Carboplatin, Abiraterone Acetate, Mitoxantrone, Sunitinib Malate were used as testing drugs. Results: Cellular adhesion, proliferation and drug induced cellular responses were monitored by the RTCES system, and the results were correlated to the well-established cell viability tests. Identification of an effective drug from a panel of available anticancer drugs to a specific cancer cell line, or testing the effectiveness of a certain drug to a panel of prostate cancer cell lines was demonstrated. Cellular resistance to a drug at single dose and multiple dose challenges was monitored by RT-CES measurement, while such resistance was not detectable by endpoint cell viability assays. Conclusions: The results of this study highlighted the advantages of such real-time impedance-based sensing system for applications in chemotherapy reagent selection.