Research Paper Volume 14, Issue 23 pp 9466—9483
Identification of natural products and FDA-approved drugs for targeting cancer stem cell (CSC) propagation
Figure 12. Summary of the Workflow. Candidate natural compounds, FDA-approved drugs, and/or new chemical entities are subjected to drug screening, using the 3D mammosphere assay (MCF7 cells). Positive hits are then validated as metabolic inhibitors, by using the Seahorse, to directly measure oxygen consumption and metabolic flux. Small chemical entities showing anti-mitochondrial activity can then be further validated in pre-clinical models of tumor growth and metastasis. Finally, clinical trials in patients with breast cancer (or other cancer types) can be carried out to validate in vivo that a given compound eradicates CSCs, using CSC-specific markers, such as CD44 and ALDH1 by immuno-histochemistry.