Fragments of a biopsy sample on the order of about 50 to 5000 cells are preferred for establishing viable tumor cell cultures for purposes such as establishing cell lines, chemotherapeutic assays and the like. Such fragments retain the three-dimensional cellular structure or organization of the original tumor and, therefore, can be cultured more readily. To obtain such fragments suitable for culturing, the biopsy sample can be enzymatically digested in a proteolytic or nucleolytic enzyme, such as collagenase, or by mechanical dissociation, or both where necessary. The fragments can then be suspended in an aqueous medium so that non-aggregated cells (e.g., red blood cells, lymphocytes, macrophages) and cellular debris will form a supernatant while the remaining fragments containing aggregated tumor cells are deposited in a sediment layer. Preferably, the medium is an isotonic tissue culture medium and decantation is conducted at least twice; first in a serum-containing medium and then, secondly, in a serum-free medium. Fragments containing living tumor cells can be selected by fluorochromasia, that is, by contacting the sedimented layer with a fluorogenic substrate such that viable tumor cells take up and hydrolyse the substrate, and then exhibit fluorescence. Cytotoxicity assay protocols employing tumor cell aggregates prepared by the present techniques are also disclosed.
活检样本中细胞数量在 50 至 5000 个之间的片段更适合用于建立有活力的肿瘤
细胞培养物,如建立
细胞系、化疗试验等。这种片段保留了原始肿瘤的三维细胞结构或组织,因此更易于培养。为获得适于培养的此类片段,活检样本可在蛋白
水解酶或核酸
水解酶(如
胶原酶)中进行酶解,或通过机械解离,必要时也可同时进行酶解和机械解离。然后将碎片悬浮在
水性
培养基中,使非聚集细胞(如红细胞、淋巴细胞、巨噬细胞)和细胞碎片形成上清液,而含有聚集肿瘤细胞的剩余碎片沉积在沉淀层中。
培养基最好是等渗组织
培养基,倾析至少进行两次;第一次在含血清
培养基中,第二次在无血清
培养基中。含活肿瘤细胞的片段可通过荧光染色法选出,即用含
氟底物接触沉淀层,使有活力的肿瘤细胞吸收并
水解底物,然后发出荧光。此外,还公开了采用本技术制备的肿瘤细胞聚集体的细胞毒性检测方案。