NorthWest Biotherapeutics Inc (NWBO)

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Brain tissue banking for stem cells for our future.....cites DCVax in quote at bottom.

Emily Palmero, Sheryl Palmero & Wayne Murrell

Scientific Reports 6, Article number: 39394 (2016)

doi:10.1038/srep39394
Download Citation
Cancer stem cellsPreclinical research
Received:
04 August 2016
Accepted:
23 November 2016
Published online:
19 December 2016

http://www.nature.com/articles/srep39394

The normal procedure worldwide for handling tumour material post-operatively has been to fix and freeze material for pathology assessment. These methods and storage protocols have precluded the possibility of obtaining living cells for analysis. Assessment of protein and RNA expression from these stored frozen samples has been possible but this was the extent of analyses. In terms of attempting to derive treatments some groups have used this dead tissue as a source of protein lysate to instruct dendritic cells for injection of autologous dendritic cell vaccines (DCVax14). Our lab has collaborated in the derivation of mRNA instructed DC vaccines where the mRNA has been derived from living tumour stem cells4. As well we have used these living TSCs to provide starting material for microarray analyses that compared TSCs to NSCs resulting in identification of potentially useful therapeutic targets in GBM5,15. To undertake studies of these TSCs’ and NSCs’ biology the availability of living cells has been an exciting opportunity. We have been able to undertake gene modifications enabling target gene knockdowns, followed by in vitro and in vivo assessment of tumorigenicity6,7,5. Whilst these exciting experimental opportunities have been enabled by our policy of culturing everything, it is often only later that we receive confirmation of diagnosis. With our new procedure enabling the storage of tissue that will yield live stem cells later, we can decide retrospectively which samples to study.