METHODS FOR IDENTIFICATION AND USE OF AGENTS TARGETING CANCER STEM CELLS

1 . A method for testing the ability of a compound to inhibit the growth and/or survival of a cancer stem cell, comprising

(a) contacting one or more test cells with a sample of the compound, wherein the one or more test cells has undergone an epithelial to mesenchymal transition, and

(b) detecting the level of inhibition of the growth and/or survival of the one or more test cells by the compound.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the epithelial to mesenchymal transition results from inhibiting the activity of E-Cadherin in the one or more test cells.

3 - 11 . (canceled)

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more test cells comprise nontumorigenic cells.

13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more test cells comprise tumorigenic cells.

14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the method comprises

(a) contacting one or more test cells and one or more control cells with a sample of the compound, wherein the one or more test cells has undergone an epithelial to mesenchymal transition and the one or more control cells has not undergone an EMT, and

(b) detecting the level of inhibition of the growth and/or survival of the one or more test cells and control cells by the compound; and

(c) identifying the compound as a candidate CSC-selective chemotherapeutic agent if the compound has a greater inhibitory effect on the growth and/or survival of the test cells than the control cells.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the test cells and the control cells are genetically matched.

16 . (canceled)

17 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising contacting one or more control cells with a sample of the compound and detecting the level of inhibition of the growth and/or survival of the one or more control cells by the compound.

18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the one or more control cells is an epithelial cell that has not undergone an epithelial to mesenchymal transition.

19 - 22 . (canceled)

23 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the one or more control cells comprise non-tumorigenic cells.

24 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the one or more control cells comprise tumorigenic cells.

25 . The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the one or more test cells is contacted with a different dose of, and/or for a different duration with, the compound than at least one other test cell; and/or wherein each of the one or more control cells is contacted with a different dose of, and/or for a different duration with, the compound than at least one other control cell.

26 . The method of claim 25 , further comprising analyzing a test and/or control dose response curve, wherein the test dose response curve indicates the level of inhibition of the one or more test cells by the compound at a plurality of doses; and wherein the control dose response curve indicates the level of inhibition on the one or more control cells by the compound at a plurality of doses.

27 . The method of claim 26 , wherein the analyzing comprises determining an EC50 value for compound on the one or more test cells and/or the one or more control cells.

28 - 30 . (canceled)

31 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more control cells and the one or more test cells are in a co-culture.

32 . The method of claim 31 , wherein the one or more test cells have an identifying characteristic that is detectable and distinct from an identifying characteristic of the one or more control cells, optionally wherein the identifying characteristic comprises a level of expression of GFP protein and/or a cancer stem cell biomarker.

33 - 34 . (canceled)

35 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising testing a plurality of test samples, wherein each of the test samples comprises at least one of the one or more test cells; and/or further comprising testing a plurality of control samples, wherein each of the control samples comprises at least one of the one or more control cells.

36 - 37 . (canceled)

38 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the compound is obtained from a library consisting of a plurality of compounds, optionally wherein the library is selected from a natural products library, a diversity library, a kinase-inhibitor library, a HDAC-inhibitor library, a library of known bioactive compounds, a peptide library, an antibody library, or an RNAi library.

39 . The method of claim 38 , wherein the contacting the one or more test cells comprises transferring a sample of the compound from the library to a culture chamber containing the test sample; and/or wherein the contacting the one or more control cells comprises transferring a sample of the compound from the library to a culture chamber containing the control sample.

40 . The method of claim 39 , further comprising identifying a lead compound that is substantially more cytotoxic to the one or more test cells than the one or more control cells, by comparing the level of inhibition of the growth and/or survival of the one or more test cells by the compound to the level of inhibition of the growth and/or survival of the one or more control cells by the compound.

41 . The method of claim 40 , further comprising contacting one or more cancer cells with a sample of the lead compound, and detecting the level of inhibition of the growth and/or survival of the one or more cancer cells by the lead compound.

42 . The method of claim 41 , wherein the one or more cancer cells are obtained from a colon carcinoma, a pancreatic cancer, a breast cancer, an ovarian cancer, a prostate cancer, a squamous cell carcinoma, a cervical cancer, a lung carcinoma, a small cell lung carcinoma, a bladder carcinoma, a squamous cell carcinoma, a basal cell carcinoma, an adenocarcinoma, a sweat gland carcinoma, a sebaceous gland carcinoma, a papillary carcinoma, a papillary adenocarcinoma, a cystadenocarcinoma, a medullary carcinoma, a bronchogenic carcinoma, a renal cell carcinoma, a hepatocellular carcinoma, a bile duct carcinoma, a choriocarcinoma, a seminoma, a embryonal carcinoma, a Wilms' tumor, or a testicular tumor.

43 . The method of claim 41 , wherein at least one of the one or more cancer cells is a cancer stem cell, which has a cancer stem cell biomarker.

44 - 48 . (canceled)

49 . The method of claim 40 , further comprising producing a refined lead compound by modifying the lead compound to achieve (i) improved potency, (ii) decreased toxicity, which may optionally be an improved therapeutic index; (iii) decreased side effects; (iv) modified onset of therapeutic action and/or duration of effect; and/or (v) modified pharmacokinetic parameters, which may optionally be absorption, distribution, metabolism and/or excretion.

50 - 51 . (canceled)

52 . The method of claim 51 , further comprising testing the lead or refined lead compound in vivo, by administering the pharmaceutical composition to a subject having a cancer cell, and evaluating the toxicity of the compound to the subject and/or the effect of the compound on the growth and/or survival of the cancer cell in the subject.

53 . (canceled)

54 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining the expression of one or more cancer stem cell markers in the test cell and/or the control cell.

55 - 56 . (canceled)

57 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the detecting the level of inhibition of the growth and/or survival of the test cell and/or the control cell by the compound comprises performing an assay selected from: a cell counting assay, a replication labeling assay, a cell membrane integrity assay, a cellular ATP-based viability assay, a mitochondrial reductase activity assay, a caspase activity assay, an Annexin V staining assay, a DNA content assay, a DNA degradation assay, and a nuclear fragmentation assay.

58 - 108 . (canceled)