CAGT Shared Instrumentation Grant: IncuCyte SX5 Imaging System

PAR: 22-080 S10 Biomedical Research Support Shared Instrumentation Grants CAGT Shared Instrumentation Grant: IncuCyte SX5 Imaging System Project Summary/Abstract The development of cell and gene therapies to target cancer has revolutionized the approach to treat patients with blood cancers. However, this treatment has had little effect on the treatment of solid tumors which comprise about 90% of all cancers. Therefore, novel strategies to develop therapies must be considered and multiparametric evaluation of those products are critical to understand their functionality. Utilizing state-of-the-art technology such as live-cell image analysis in complex models will provide improved accuracy and consistent testing of current and future products that will translate to the treatment of patients. We aim to purchase a new IncuCyte SX5 with funds provided through the Shared Instrument Grant application that can be used in the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy (CAGT). The IncuCyte is a live cell imaging system that allows easy quantification of cell morphology and behavior over time. The SX5 provides up to five color fluorescent imaging with the capability of three-color multiplexing compared to the current two-color fluorescence with the S3 model. This instrument improves productivity by allowing automatic acquisition and analysis for up to six culture plates or vessels in parallel. Analyses include the visualization and quantification of cell proliferation, tumor and immune cell interactions, cytotoxicity, cell type specific metabolic activity, and three-dimensional tumor spheroid assays. The SX5 increases the flexibility of experimental parameters and reagents when evaluating complex therapies developed by investigators at CAGT. Novel evaluations with the IncuCyte SX5 will prove to be invaluable to assess the functionality of cell and gene therapy products for clinical translation.