Developing An Analytic Tool To Assist In Accurately Identifying Leukemia Stem Cells

Main Category: Lymphoma / Leukemia / Myeloma
Also Included In: Cancer / Oncology
Article Date: 03 Oct 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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As part of a comprehensive R&D effort to develop an analytic tool to assist in accurately identifying leukemia stem cells, Oerlikon Leybold Vacuum is supporting the StemSpec R&D project at the University of Toronto with a TURBOVAC SL turbomolecular vacuum pump and a fore vacuum pump, and advising researchers about the use of the pumps.

With mounting evidence that many types of cancer, including leukemia, are stem-cell diseases where growth of a cancer tumor is sustained by cancer stem cells (CSCs), research efforts are focusing on the development of a tool to precisely identify the specific proteins and cell antigens that characterize CSCs. All cells contain many thousands of proteins, and the combination of proteins defines the biological properties of that cell. As a result, it is reasonable to expect that certain cells, like a CSC, have distinctive protein "marker profiles" that distinguish them from the other cells.

However, CSCs comprise far less than one percent of the cells in a tumor - about one per million - and they are difficult to isolate by conventional tests. This is why current cancer treatments such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy may kill the bulk of the cells in a tumor and trigger a remission in the progress of the disease, but cancer stem cells largely resist these treatments, allowing the tumor to regenerate - clinical relapse.

A tool for individual cell analysis to address the significant challenge of identifying these cancer stem cells which, in turn, can lead to more effective therapies is now being developed and tested at the University of Toronto. Based on the concept of anInductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS), this tool simultaneously measures a very high number (>20) of elemental tags attached to antibodies that interact with cell proteins and DNA via specific immuno-reactions. The presence and intensity of specific response signals can indicate the presence of markers on that cell and identify the specific cell type (i.e., whether it is a CSC or not).

This newly developed ICP-MS instrument uses a vacuum environment to carry out an extremely rapid and accurate analysis of the CSCs in a mass of cells by exploiting these unique cellular properties. As a leading supplier of vacuum components and solutions, Oerlikon Leybold Vacuum is a sponsor of the university's development efforts by supplying a new TURBOVAC SL turbomolecular vacuum pump and a fore vacuum pump,and advising the project team on the pumps. The project is funded by Genome Canada through the Ontario Genomics Institute, the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation, the Ontario Institute of Cancer Research, DVS Sciences Inc. and others.

The StemSpec project is developing tools both to identify rare cancer stem cells and to examine the cancer pathways within leukemia stem cells. The project research teams also intend to further explore the nature of cancer stem cells, including the uniquegenes that are enabled or disabled in CSCs, the pathways that determine their biological properties, and the factors present on the surface of and inside these cells.

Ultimately, based on a more thorough understanding of CSCs that will result from this project, future disease therapies promise to be much less harmful to normal tissues and more effective in attacking the root of the cancer.

About Oerlikon Leybold Vacuum

Cologne, Germany-based Oerlikon Leybold Vacuum GmbH develops a broad range of application- and customer-specific systems for the creation of vacuums and extraction of processing gases. With 150 years of experience as a first-class vacuum supplier, the company's products are known for their superior performance, reliability and quality. Oerlikon Leybold Vacuum has a worldwide network of consultants and sales personnel that provide wide-ranging engineering expertise and are available to help customers select the right products for any application. http://www.oerlikon.com/leyboldvacuum

About Oerlikon

Oerlikon (SWX:OERL) is one of the world's most successful high-tech industrial groups specializing in machine and plant engineering. The company is a leader in the field of industrial solutions and innovative technologies for textile manufacture, thin-film solar and thin-film coating, drive, precision and vacuum systems. With roots in Switzerland and a long tradition stretching back 100 years, Oerlikon is a global player with a workforce of more than 19,000 at 170 locations in 35 different countries. The company's sales amounted to CHF 5.6 billion and it ranks either first or second in the respective global markets.

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