Reference #: 01320
The University of South Carolina is offering licensing opportunities for the Creation and Characterization of TP53-null MCF7 Breast Cancer Cells
Background:
Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed among women, and the second leading cause of cancer death for women in the United States. 36.1% of breast cancers acquire a loss of function mutation to the tumor suppressor gene TP53, yet no therapies exist targeting the absence of p53. The MCF7 breast cancer cell line expresses a functioning wild type TP53 gene. CRISPR-Cas9 allows for accurate and precise engineering of genomic DNA and can be used to knockout specific genes of interest. Developing a TP53 knockout system for testing oncology drugs is imperative for identifying targeted cancer therapies.
Invention Description:
MCF7 ATCC(R) HTB-22(TM) cells possess a functioning TP53 tumor suppressor gene. These cells were then engineered using the CRISPR-Cas9 nuclease to render this tumor suppressor gene nonfunctional. These newly engineered cells provide a valuable tool to test current FDA approved drugs against cells with and without a working TP53 gene.
Potential Applications:
The creation of clones without TP53 allows for the isolation of the TP53 gene for translational research. TP53 is the most commonly mutated gene in all of cancer, and these new Knockout vs Wild type clones allow for researchers to find out the role TP53 plays in drug sensitivity or resistance.
Advantages and Benefits:
There are currently no other MCF-7 TP53 knockout cell lines in the world. These knockout cells were used to make the novel discovery that TP53 deletion sensitizes breast cancer cells to the combined therapeutic effects of Fluorouracil plus Palbociclib. This will form the foundation for a companion diagnostic to triage patients for this regimen according to their somatic TP53 mutation status.