title: A bioluminescent HL-60 cell line to assay anti-leukaemia therapeutics under physiological conditions.
abstract: Screens for compounds and proteins with anti-cancer activity employ viability assays using relevant cancer cell lines. For leukaemia studies, the human leukaemia cell line, HL-60, is often used as a model system. To facilitate the discovery and investigation of anti-leukaemia therapeutics under physiological conditions, we have engineered HL-60 cells that stably express firefly luciferase and produce light that can be detected using an in vivo imaging system (IVIS). Bioluminescent HL-60luc cells could be rapidly detected in whole blood with a sensitivity of approximately 1000 viable cells/200 microl blood. Treatment of HL-60luc cells with the drug chlorambucil revealed that the bioluminescent viability assay is able to detect cell death earlier than the Trypan blue dye exclusion assay. HL-60luc cells administered intraperitoneally (i.p.) or intravenously (i.v.) were visualized in living mice. The rapidity and ease of detecting HL-60luc cells in biological fluid indicates that this cell line could be used in high-throughput screens for the identification of drugs with anti-leukaemia activity under physiological conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Biology, New Jersey Dental School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07103, USA.
authors.forename: Maria P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Isaza
authors.forename: Jennie T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Chau
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Le
authors.forename: Nataliya V
authors.initials: NV
authors.lastname: Balashova
authors.forename: Jigna K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: Erica
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Salerno
authors.forename: Juan A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Crosby
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: O'Connor
authors.forename: Scott C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Kachlany
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D049454:Firefly Luciferin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry*; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D018922:HL-60 Cells; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D007938:Leukemia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D049409:Luciferases, Firefly / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D049449:Luminescence; D008163:Luminescent Measurements; D051379:Mice; D016513:Mice, SCID; D009368:Neoplasm Transplantation; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D049454:Firefly Luciferin; D049409:Luciferases, Firefly