The Accuracy of Cancer Cell Lines

Interesting question posed over at Nature Blogs regarding the applicability of experimental results generated from cancer cell lines. According to author Brendan Borrell, “the major criticism of cell lines is that not all cancer types can be grown indefinitely in the laboratory. Those that do grow differ genetically from primary tissue, accumulating new mutations as they adapt to their artificial environment.”

I tend to agree.

There are tons of studies that have been conducted using ATCC transformed cells. ATCC transformed cells can be purchased for a relatively reasonable cost, are widely available and are much easier to grow than most primary cell cultures. But perhaps the most compelling reason for using an ATCC cell line in your study is that other scientists have used it in theirs. In the scientific spirit of starting your experiment where someone else left off (the best advice for all grad students is to try and repeat the results of their predecessors before continuing on with their research) your best bet is to stick with all the same reagent recipes and biological material (i.e. cells) that they’ve used so that you can minimize experimental variability as much as possible. After all, if “THEY’VE” used it than it must be well characterized.

But is that true? Is the A10 transformed smooth muscle cell line used by your PI’s grad student back in the early ’90s the same as the one that you are using in your experiments today? Moreover, does the “well characterized” transformed cell that you are using even come close to resembling the phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of the same primary cell found in the organism you are studying? If not, how applicable will your results be in an in-vivo environment?

I specifically mentioned A10 smooth muscle cells because that was my cell of choice during my graduate studies. I had been growing A10s from our stock in the liquid nitrogen tank for months when the “disaster” occurred and our cell culture room became terribly infected with fungus forcing us to throw out all of our cultured cells. Once the room was cleaned, we decided to order a new batch of A10 cells directly from ATCC instead of thawing an old batch from the liquid N2. The cells that arrived from the ATCC had a completely different morphology that what I was used to seeing. Now I had to make a decision which cells to use. I had a ton of data using my old (and rather round) A10 cells but the different, (and proper), smooth muscle cell morphology that I was seeing in this new batch of cells led me to question the authenticity of my previous results. The old A10 cells had been in the lab for eternity. So much data was generated using the old cells. Could we trust any of it?

So, my advice is that wherever possible, go with primary cells. In my opinion, once transformed, cells are never the same!

Wine and Chocolate…What a Concept

Roxanne Browning from Exotic Chocolate Tasting left a comment on our post “better science through chocolate” hailing the work of our molecular biologist friend Andy at Theo Chocolates.

I paid a courtesy visit to Roxanne’s website and was quite taken by her concept of coupling wine tasting with chocolate tasting. As we’ve discussed in the past, we know that wine and chocolate have both been shown to have independent health qualities. But when taken together….check it out!

Real Time qPCR Data Analysis

In these Bio-Rad Laboratories Real Time Quantitative PCR video tutorials, you will learn how to analyze your data using both absolute and relative quantitative methods. The tutorial also includes a great explanation of the differences between Livak, delta CT and the Pfaffl methods of analyzing your results.

If you are very ambitious, visit the original Bio-Rad video link for a clearer picture that combines both of these youtube videos into one (youtube doesn’t allow for videos that are over 10 minutes long and tends to make text a bit blurry).

Childhood Obesity Boosts Risk of GERD

Obese older children are at increased risk for developing the painful digestive disease known as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), researchers from Kaiser Permanente in California report.

“Although we know that childhood obesity, especially extreme obesity, comes with risks for serious health conditions, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer, our study adds yet another condition to the list, which is GERD,” said study lead author Corinna Koebnick, a research scientist at Kaiser Permanente Southern California’s Department of Research and Evaluation in Pasadena.

GERD can undermine quality of life, Koebnick said, noting that the disease can cause chronic heartburn, nausea and the potential for respiratory problems such as persistent cough, inflammation of the larynx and asthma.

SOURCES: Corinna Koebnick, Ph.D., research scientist, Kaiser Permanente Southern California’s Department of Research and Evaluation, Pasadena; Aymin Delgado, M.D., assistant professor of pediatric gastroenterology at the University of Miami Miller School; July 9, 2010, online International Journal of Pediatric Obesity.
Clink: http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=117904

Here are some more resources on Childhood Obesity:

Statistics from Canada
Childhood overweight and obesity rates are rising in Canada. Obesity rates in children have almost tripled in the last 25 years. Approximately 26% of Canadian children ages 2-17 years old are currently overweight or obese
Obesity rates continue to increase into adulthood.
•Approximately 1/3 of normal weight 20 year olds will become overweight within 8 years
•Approximately 1/3 of overweight 20 year olds will become obese within 8 years
If this trend continues, in 20 years we can expect 70% of the 35 -44 year olds in Canada to be overweight or obese vs. 57% who are currently overweight or obese.
There are significant economic costs for Canada as a result of obesity. Direct and indirect costs associated with obesity in 2001 were estimated at $4.3 billion. (Katzmarzyk and Janssen, 2004)

Clink: http://www.childhoodobesityfoundation.ca/statistics

From the White House Blog: Infographics on the Challenge of Childhood Obesity

From Canada: Giving A “KICK” To Childhood Obesity, Canada
Kids in the Community Kitchen (KICK)”. The KICK program, from Central Southern Ontario, received the national Speaking of Food and Healthy Living award at the 2010 Dietitians of Canada Conference in Montreal.

Biotechnology Kids Weekend

Science News for Kids is a web site devoted to science news for children of ages 9 to 14. Their goal is to offer timely items of interest to kids, accompanied by suggestions for hands-on activities, books, articles, Web resources, and other useful materials. Their emphasis is on making the Web site appealing by offering kids opportunities to comment on and grade the subject matter, get ideas for science projects, and try out mathematical puzzles. At the same time, they offer teachers creative ways of using science news in their classrooms.

Clink: http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/

Tips for Scientist Entrepreneurs

A couple of days ago we asked if this was the right time for science grads to look for a job in industry. Simon, an intern at the MaRS Blog, recently attended the Alternative Careers in Science Symposium hosted by The Hospital for Sick Children, moderated by 2010 Premier’s Summit Award Winner, Dr. Janet Rossant and posted an interesting synopsis on the blog. I recommend Simon’s post as interesting reading for all those considering a career away from the bench.

Good job Simon!

Better Science Through Chocolate

A while back we ran a story touting the health benefits of chocolate and how it has been used in medicine throughout the ages. The post was wildly popular, which isn’t surprising considering how much we all love our cocoa bean addiction.

In any event, I just came across this great post from The Scientist which I wanted to share with the CBT readership. Andy McShea is the COO of the Theo Chocolate factory and a former molecular biologist at Harvard University. His research focuses on understanding the characteristics of perfect chocolate at the molecular level and his motto is “better science through chocolate”.

By the way, according to The Scientist, McShea had no prior chocolate experience before joining Theo and it was his credentials in assay development that got him the job. I have a pretty good molecular background and lots of experience in chocolate with many pounds of extra tummy to show for it. Where do I apply for a job?

Check out the Dr. Chocolate for some yummy reading.

Another first for Canadians

Canadian researchers have become the first in the world to confirm that an anti-HIV treatment has led to a significant decrease in diagnoses of the virus, according to a groundbreaking study released Sunday at the International AIDS Society conference in Vienna.

Julio Montaner, the lead researcher and director of the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS told Postmedia news “Today is a big day for us in B.C. and Canada. I don’t remember the last time a made-in-Canada strategy to address a global epidemic has taken this kind of initiative.”

See Carmen Chai’s Postmedia News report for full details.

Biotechnology News

Peter Benders is the President and CEO of BIOTECanada, Canada’s national association representing the biotechnology sector. He recently posted this piece on the state of the sector in Canada and introduced a new report from his organization.

Clink: http://biotuesday.ca/2010/07/13/biotecanadas-peter-benders-on-the-state-of-the-sector/

The Report:
The Canadian Blueprint
Beyond Moose and Mountains
How we can build the world’s leading bio-based economy

Clink for the report: http://www.biotech.ca/uploads/pdf/beyondmm_english_final.pdf

The Conference Board of Canada on Biotechnology

The Conference Board of Canada notes that biotechnology is a critical technology
platform essential to Canada’s ongoing prosperity. Canadian companies developing biotechnology products and applications are creating a success story we can all take pride in: the market capitalization of our public biotech companies was over $20 billion, and revenues have grown to $4.2 billion annually. Biotechnology has not been immune from the economic downturn of late. At the time of writing, many biotechnology companies have massively scaled back, gone dormant or out of business. This could have been avoided …….

For more clink: http://www.biotech.ca/uploads/pdf/beyondmm_english_final.pdf