Patient derived glioma stem cell spheroid reporter assays for live cell high content analysis

Three dimensional models of cell culture enables researchers to recreate aspects of tumour biology not replicated by traditional two dimensional techniques. Here we describe a protocol to enable automated high throughput phenotypic profiling across panels of patient derived glioma stem cell spheroid models. We demonstrate the of both live/dead cell end-points and monitor the dynamic changes in the cell cycle using cell lines expressing the FUCCI cell cycle reporter. Together, these assays provide additional insight into the mechanism of action compound treatments over traditional cell viability assay endpoints.

Automated summary

This article describes a method to recreate aspects of tumor biology using three-dimensional cell culture models that cannot be replicated by traditional two-dimensional techniques. The authors introduce a protocol for automated high throughput phenotypic profiling across panels of patient-derived glioma stem cell spheroid models. By using cell lines expressing the FUCCI cell cycle reporter, they demonstrate the monitoring of both live/dead cell endpoints and dynamic changes in the cell cycle. These assays provide additional insights into the mechanism of action of compound treatments, surpassing traditional cell viability assay endpoints.