title: A simple, low-cost staining method for rapid-throughput analysis of tumor spheroids.
abstract: Tumor spheroids are becoming an important tool for the investigation of cancer stem cell (CSC) function in tumors; thus, low-cost and high-throughput methods for drug screening of tumor spheroids are needed. Using neurospheres as non-adherent three-dimensional (3-D) cultures, we developed a simple, low-cost acridine orange (AO)-based method that allows for rapid analysis of live neurospheres by fluorescence microscopy in a 96-well format. This assay measures the cross-section area of a spheroid, which corresponds to cell viability. Our novel method allows rapid screening of a panel of anti-proliferative drugs to assess inhibitory effects on the growth of cancer stem cells in 3-D cultures.
authors.affiliation: Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center and Division of Hematology-Oncology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Eckerdt
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern Brain Tumor Institute, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Angel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.affiliation: Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center and Division of Hematology-Oncology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.affiliation: Center for Advanced Microscopy and Department of Pathology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Constadina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Arvanitis
authors.affiliation: Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center and Division of Hematology-Oncology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.|Division of Hematology and Oncology, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Asneha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iqbal
authors.affiliation: Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center and Division of Hematology-Oncology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Ahmet D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Arslan
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern Brain Tumor Institute, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern Brain Tumor Institute, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Shi-Yuan
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center and Division of Hematology-Oncology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.|Division of Hematology and Oncology, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Stewart
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Goldman
authors.affiliation: Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center and Division of Hematology-Oncology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.|Department of Medicine, Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Leonidas C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Platanias
mesh_terms: D000165:Acridine Orange / Q000737:chemistry; D001681:Biological Assay / Q000379:methods; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D005909:Glioblastoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000473:pathology; D018874:Spheroids, Cellular / Q000473:pathology; D013194:Staining and Labeling / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D000165:Acridine Orange
keywords: acridine orange; cancer stem cell; glioblastoma; microscopy; neurospheres; tumor spheroids