Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are present in the blood of many cancer patients. However, most of these cells, which are thought to be involved in metastasis, die in the circulation. CTCs are captured from a simple blood test and their molecular characterization can provide vital insights into tumor heterogeneity. The detection of CTCs in OS patients may help to diagnose micrometastases, which are not detectable by present imaging methods, earlier and better predict recurrence. Furthermore, CTC detection can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of chemotherapy and for real-time monitoring of patients for drug resistance, because blood taking is easily repeatable over time.
However, there are several challenges associated with CTC detection and isolation. CTCs are rare cells in a background of 10E6 – 10E7 nucleated blood cells and enrichment steps are usually needed before detection and characterization. CTC heterogeneity and limitation in the blood volume restricts the available material for analysis. In addition, sarcomas are a heterogeneous group of cancers of mesenchymal origin, many of which have a predisposition to develop distant metastases. The absence of specific markers expressed by sarcoma tumor cells limited the characterization of sarcoma CTCs. With this in mind in the present project we propose the use of distinguishable biological properties, here cell-matrix adhesion, for sarcoma CTC isolation.
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are present in the blood of many cancer patients. However, most of these cells, which are thought to be involved in metastasis, die in the circulation. CTCs are captured from a simple blood test and their molecular characterization can provide vital insights into tumor heterogeneity. The detection of CTCs in OS patients may help to diagnose micrometastases, which are not detectable by present imaging methods, earlier and better predict recurrence. Furthermore, CTC detection can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of chemotherapy and for real-time monitoring of patients for drug resistance, because blood taking is easily repeatable over time. However, there are several challenges associated with CTC detection and isolation. CTCs are rare cells in a background of 10E6 – 10E7 nucleated blood cells and enrichment steps are usually needed before detection and characterization. CTC heterogeneity and limitation in the blood volume restricts the available material for analysis. In addition, sarcomas are a heterogeneous group of cancers of mesenchymal origin, many of which have a predisposition to develop distant metastases. The absence of specific markers expressed by sarcoma tumor cells limited the characterization of sarcoma CTCs. With this in mind in the present project we propose the use of distinguishable biological properties, here cell-matrix adhesion, for sarcoma CTC isolation.
The objectives of the present project are:
1. Optimization of cell adhesion conditions like substrate mixture, incubation time for different established osteosarcoma cell lines and nucleated blood cells.
2. Validation of the established isolation method regarding to reproducibility and sensitivity.
We expect the following distribution for the time expenditure of the work
1. Literature review (10%).
2. Introduction into cell culture, protocol development and execution of experiments (60%).
3. Analyzing the data and producing figures (10%).
4. Writing the final report (Thesis) (20%).
We are looking for a student who wants to work at the bench and who is interested in cell culture and laboratory techniques. The project demands a minimum of 20 hours of bench work per week, and would best suit for students with a biology background. Students with other but related background are also encouraged to apply.
The objectives of the present project are: 1. Optimization of cell adhesion conditions like substrate mixture, incubation time for different established osteosarcoma cell lines and nucleated blood cells. 2. Validation of the established isolation method regarding to reproducibility and sensitivity.
We expect the following distribution for the time expenditure of the work 1. Literature review (10%). 2. Introduction into cell culture, protocol development and execution of experiments (60%). 3. Analyzing the data and producing figures (10%). 4. Writing the final report (Thesis) (20%).
We are looking for a student who wants to work at the bench and who is interested in cell culture and laboratory techniques. The project demands a minimum of 20 hours of bench work per week, and would best suit for students with a biology background. Students with other but related background are also encouraged to apply.
Contact: Dr. Knut Husmann
knut.husmann@hest.ethz.ch / Institute for Biomechanics, ETH Zürich / Professorship Jess Snedeker http://www.orthobiomech.ethz.ch/
Our laboratory is located in Balgrist Campus. Lengghalde 5, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
http://www.balgristcampus.ch
Contact: Dr. Knut Husmann knut.husmann@hest.ethz.ch / Institute for Biomechanics, ETH Zürich / Professorship Jess Snedeker http://www.orthobiomech.ethz.ch/
Our laboratory is located in Balgrist Campus. Lengghalde 5, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland http://www.balgristcampus.ch