Biomaterial Database

Evaluation of a rapid tetrazolium-based colorimetric assay for selecting anticancer drugs. 1990

C F Chen, and J M Hwang, and C H Wu, and C S Chen, and K Y Chen

Department of Medical Research, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, R.O.C.

A rapid colorimetric microtiter assay was used in this study to analysis drug cytotoxicity. Through the reduction of tetrazolium salt, MTT [3-(4, 5-dimethyl-thiazol-2-yl) 2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide], by living cells to form a blue formazan product. The level of MTT cleavage by viable cells of various origins was found to be in direct proportion to the number of cells (between 500-10,000 cells/well). By MTT methods, the growth profile and chemosensitivity of 4 human tumor cell lines (KB, Hep-2, HA22T, and CoLo205) to 4 anticancer drugs (adriamycin, 5-fluorouracil, 6-mercaptopurine and cyclophosphamide) were assessed. Results from this assay were compared with data assimilated simultaneously by dye exclusion and clonogenic assay. In general, good correlation was observed among the clonogenic, dye exclusion and MTT assays for continuous drug exposures, yet the MTT assay was more rapid in testing in vitro chemosensitivity against human tumor cell lines. The dye exclusion assay was the most sensitive, followed by the clonogenic and then the MTT assays. The ID50 values obtained from the MTT assay were approximately 3 to 5 times lower than those from the other two methods. Based on these studies, MTT assay appears to be a rapid, convenient, economical and reasonable tool in the initial-stage screening of large number of the in vitro anticancer drugs.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D011237	Predictive Value of Tests	In screening and diagnostic tests, the probability that a person with a positive test is a true positive (i.e., has the disease), is referred to as the predictive value of a positive test; whereas, the predictive value of a negative test is the probability that the person with a negative test does not have the disease. Predictive value is related to the sensitivity and specificity of the test.	Negative Predictive Value,Positive Predictive Value,Predictive Value Of Test,Predictive Values Of Tests,Negative Predictive Values,Positive Predictive Values,Predictive Value, Negative,Predictive Value, Positive
D003124	Colorimetry	Any technique by which an unknown color is evaluated in terms of standard colors. The technique may be visual, photoelectric, or indirect by means of spectrophotometry. It is used in chemistry and physics. (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)
D004354	Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor	Methods of investigating the effectiveness of anticancer cytotoxic drugs and biologic inhibitors. These include in vitro cell-kill models and cytostatic dye exclusion tests as well as in vivo measurement of tumor growth parameters in laboratory animals.	Anticancer Drug Sensitivity Tests,Antitumor Drug Screens,Cancer Drug Tests,Drug Screening Tests, Tumor-Specific,Dye Exclusion Assays, Antitumor,Anti-Cancer Drug Screens,Antitumor Drug Screening Assays,Tumor-Specific Drug Screening Tests,Anti Cancer Drug Screens,Anti-Cancer Drug Screen,Antitumor Drug Screen,Cancer Drug Test,Drug Screen, Anti-Cancer,Drug Screen, Antitumor,Drug Screening Tests, Tumor Specific,Drug Screens, Anti-Cancer,Drug Screens, Antitumor,Drug Test, Cancer,Drug Tests, Cancer,Screen, Anti-Cancer Drug,Screen, Antitumor Drug,Screens, Anti-Cancer Drug,Screens, Antitumor Drug,Test, Cancer Drug,Tests, Cancer Drug,Tumor Specific Drug Screening Tests
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000970	Antineoplastic Agents	Substances that inhibit or prevent the proliferation of NEOPLASMS.	Anticancer Agent,Antineoplastic,Antineoplastic Agent,Antineoplastic Drug,Antitumor Agent,Antitumor Drug,Cancer Chemotherapy Agent,Cancer Chemotherapy Drug,Anticancer Agents,Antineoplastic Drugs,Antineoplastics,Antitumor Agents,Antitumor Drugs,Cancer Chemotherapy Agents,Cancer Chemotherapy Drugs,Chemotherapeutic Anticancer Agents,Chemotherapeutic Anticancer Drug,Agent, Anticancer,Agent, Antineoplastic,Agent, Antitumor,Agent, Cancer Chemotherapy,Agents, Anticancer,Agents, Antineoplastic,Agents, Antitumor,Agents, Cancer Chemotherapy,Agents, Chemotherapeutic Anticancer,Chemotherapy Agent, Cancer,Chemotherapy Agents, Cancer,Chemotherapy Drug, Cancer,Chemotherapy Drugs, Cancer,Drug, Antineoplastic,Drug, Antitumor,Drug, Cancer Chemotherapy,Drug, Chemotherapeutic Anticancer,Drugs, Antineoplastic,Drugs, Antitumor,Drugs, Cancer Chemotherapy
D013778	Tetrazolium Salts	Quaternary salts derived from tetrazoles. They are used in tests to distinguish between reducing sugars and simple aldehydes, for detection of dehydrogenase in tissues, cells, and bacteria, for determination of corticosteroids, and in color photography. (From Mall's Dictionary of Chemistry, 5th ed, p455)	Tetrazolium Salt,Salt, Tetrazolium,Salts, Tetrazolium
D013844	Thiazoles	Heterocyclic compounds where the ring system is composed of three CARBON atoms, a SULFUR and NITROGEN atoms.	Thiazole
D014407	Tumor Cells, Cultured	Cells grown in vitro from neoplastic tissue. If they can be established as a TUMOR CELL LINE, they can be propagated in cell culture indefinitely.	Cultured Tumor Cells,Neoplastic Cells, Cultured,Cultured Neoplastic Cells,Cell, Cultured Neoplastic,Cell, Cultured Tumor,Cells, Cultured Neoplastic,Cells, Cultured Tumor,Cultured Neoplastic Cell,Cultured Tumor Cell,Neoplastic Cell, Cultured,Tumor Cell, Cultured
D014410	Tumor Stem Cell Assay	A cytologic technique for measuring the functional capacity of tumor stem cells by assaying their activity. It is used primarily for the in vitro testing of antineoplastic agents.	Clonogenic Cell Assay, Tumor,Colony-Forming Units Assay, Tumor,Neoplasm Stem Cell Assay,Stem Cell Assay, Tumor,Colony Forming Units Assay, Tumor