le 11 avril 2016 à 11 h
Paul Abbyad, Chemistry & Biochemistry Department, Santa Clara University, USA

Cancer cells display high rates of glycolysis and lactate production, a phenomenon referred to as the Warburg effect.  The high glucose uptake and lactate production serve as targets for cancer diagnosis and therapy. However, the tools to study cellular metabolic activity, especially techniques that provide an improved understanding of variations of cell metabolism at the level of single cells are currently lacking. Single cell measurements are necessary to characterize intrinsic variability in a cancer cell population, as well as identify subpopulations or rare cells that are especially relevant to the disease state. We have developed two complementary microfluidic technologies for the measurement of cellular metabolism on hundreds of single cells. Using passive forces, droplets encapsulated cells are positioned in an array in a predetermined pattern for optimal imaging throughput. The use of hermetic droplets ensures that cellular metabolites released from the cells remain confined at high effective concentration. These platforms were used to measure the cell-to-cell heterogeneity in the efflux of lactate and the uptake of the radiolabeled PET agent, [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), in cancer cell lines. These techniques can be used in the study of cell biology and human disease to capture the full range of stochastic variations in glycolysis activity in heterogeneous cell populations in a repeatable and high-throughput manner.

Lieu(x) :         Amphithéatre Pierre Curie, Ecole Polytechnique

Contact :       Antigoni Alexandrou
                      antigoni.alexandrou at polytechnique.edu

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