Cell Line Panel Profiling for Discovery of Multiple Myeloma Therapeutics

Project Summary The genetic and transcriptional makeup of Multiple Myeloma is particularly heterogeneous, with several oncogenes routinely mutated and multiple chromosomal aberrations noted in different combinations. The heterogeneous nature of this disease makes it impossible to identify a single cellular model or ideal patient that could be utilized in a drug discovery campaign. To account for patient diversity in characterizing new anti-cancer drugs, a recent trend has been to test compounds on large panels of established cell lines in parallel. These panels provide the necessary genetic breadth and have been shown to be highly informative. However the utility of this powerful approach is limited due to the logistics and complications associated with running many cell line experiments in parallel. The increased number of cell lines multiplies the cost, manpower, and time required to perform these screens. This limits the types of assays that can be performed and also dramatically reduces the numbers of