Sphere-Forming Assays for Assessment of Benign and Malignant Pancreatic Stem Cells
Sphere-forming assays are an in vitro technique to assay both normal and neoplastic cells for clonogenic growth potential. Currently, the identification of adult progenitors in the pancreas remains an area of intense investigation. The use of sphere-forming assays provides a critical step to identify new cell types in the pancreas that are capable of clonogenic growth and differentiation. In the field of cancer biology, cancer stem cells have been defined functionally by two major criteria: their ability to undergo self-renewal and their ability to produce differentiated progeny, two conditions which satisfy the criteria of stem cells. Here we briefly review both the capabilities of pancreatosphere and pancreatic tumorsphere assays, discuss important caveats regarding their use, and provide detailed protocols for the assay of both normal and neoplastic cells.
- Purification and Analysis of Checkpoint Protein Complexes From Saccharomyces cerevisiae
- Tumor Markers in Screening for Ovarian Cancer
- Renal Cell Carcinoma: Clinical Features and Management
- Signal Transduction Study Using Gene-Targeted Embryonic Stem Cells
- Assessment of Gelatinases (MMP-2 and MMP-9) by Gelatin Zymography
- Screening for miRNA Expression Changes Using Quantitative PCR (Q-PCR)
- Assessment of mRNA Splice Variants by qRT-PCR
- Breast Tissue Microarrays
- PCR-Based Analysis of Rearranged Immunoglobulin or T-Cell Receptor Genes by GeneScan Analysis or Heteroduplex Analysis for Clona
- 5-Fluorouracil Metabolizing Enzymes