In Vitro Drug Sensitivity Screening Platform for CLL Patient Samples

While current treatments improve survival, Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) remains incurable and relapses are common, highlighting the need for new drugs. Patient-derived CLL cells undergo spontaneous apoptosis in culture, limiting drug screening. We have developed in vitro platform that support the growth and proliferation of these cells. Champions has a bank of primary CLL samples from various stages, genetic mutations, and relapsed or refractory cases. some of the findings from our novel in vitro platform:

Nine CLL samples were tested for proliferation in optimized media, showing a 1.5 to 9.6-fold increase in 6 days, while maintaining primary phenotypic characteristics (CD5+CD10-CD19+CD20+).
The sensitivity of primary CLL patient samples (N=9) to standard of care drugs (venetoclax, ibrutinib, idelalisib, chlorambucil, and cytarabine) was screened, revealing varied drug responses, with a relapsed bendamustine-pre-treated sample being sensitive to all drugs tested.
Whole exome sequencing (WES) and RNA sequencing (RNAseq) are being conducted alongside drug response assays to explore mutational profiles, drug efficacy, and potential biomarkers for patient selection in preclinical testing of new CLL drug candidates.

Download Champions' AACR 2021 Poster

In Vitro Drug Sensitivity Screening Platform for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) Patient Samples