Low-LET X-ray Radiation Enhances the Cellular Connectivity Through Tunneling Nanotubes in Glioblastoma Cells Background: Developing therapy resistance and exhibiting high invasiveness are significant challenges in treating aggressive cancers, such as glioblastoma, where intercellular comm...

What if an X-ray dose briefly strengthens the networks glioblastoma cells use to communicate?
This study found 1.8 Gy increased TNT connectivity 6 to 10 h after irradiation. #GelCount was used to image colony assays that helped set the key survival doses.

#Glioblastoma #Radiobiology

Human milk oligosaccharides promote synaptogenesis and neurite outgrowth in human cortical organoids The first 1000 days of a child's life represent a critical window for brain development, during which nutrition exerts profound effects on the traject…

Milk sugars as neurodevelopment signals?
In human cortical organoids, pooled HMOs drove dose-dependent synaptogenesis and neurite outgrowth (50 μg/mL looked like a key threshold).

#GelCount imaging was used to capture precise post-treatment organoid diameters.

#Organoids #Neuroscience

Targeting Metabolic and pH Regulatory Pathways in Cancer via Dual Inhibition of Nicotinamide Phosphoribosyltransferase and Carbonic Anhydrases IX and XII We report the first dual inhibitors of the tumor-associated carbonic anhydrases (hCA IX and XII) and nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT), designed to target metabolic and pH-regulatory mechanisms critical for tumor growth and resistance. Enzymatic assays identified hits showing potent nanomolar inhibition of both targets and superior efficacy compared to reference inhibitors. Computational studies elucidated key ligand–target interactions and structure–activity relationship. In high-throughput screening cellular assays, several compounds outperformed monotherapies with strong antiproliferative effects against renal carcinoma, glioblastoma, and colorectal cancer cells under normoxic and hypoxic conditions, and limited toxicity toward nonmalignant cells. In three-dimensional (3D) spheroids, compound 45 reduced the cumulative spheroid area approximately 10-fold more than the single-target inhibitors FK866 or SLC-0111 and induced apoptosis through NAD depletion, mitochondrial dysfunction, and suppression of ERK/mTOR signaling. These results support dual hCA IX/XII–NAMPT inhibition as an effective strategy to impair tumor growth and survival under hypoxic stress.

New J Med Chem: first dual inhibitors of NAMPT and CA IX/XII (hypoxia-linked pH control). In 3D spheroids, compound 45 reduced cumulative spheroid area ~10× vs single-target controls.

#HypoxyLab enabled controlled hypoxia (1% O2) + #GelCount 2 enabled automated sizing.

#CancerResearch #Hypoxia

RPA exhaustion activates SLFN11 to eliminate cells with heightened replication stress - Nature Cell Biology Stanage et al. identify a role for transfer RNA nuclease SLFN11 in replication-stress-induced cell death in cisplatin-treated cells lacking PrimPol. SLFN11 is activated upon single-stranded DNA accumu...

Some chemo sensitivity looks like a tipping point, not a slow slide.

Nature Cell Biology (2025) finds that knocking out PrimPol (replication restart) makes cisplatin much more toxic in SLFN11-high cells. Survival was validated with colony assays quantified on the #GelCount.

#CellBiology #Cisplatin

Pervasive phenotypic effects of FBXO42 are promoted by regulation of PP4 phosphatase - PubMed F-box proteins are the substrate recognition modules of the SCF (SKP1-Cullin-F-box) E3 ubiquitin ligase complex. FBXO42, an understudied member of this family, has recently emerged as a modulator of key cellular processes, including cell cycle progression, the DNA damage response, and glioma stem ce …

FBXO42 keeps PP4 phosphatase activity under control. In a new paper, FBXO42 loss boosts PP4R2-dependent effects and increases IR sensitivity.

Colony survival in Fig 1E/5B was quantified by imaging + counting adherent colonies with #GelCount.

#DNADamage #CellBiology #Oncology

Novel FAK inhibitors suppress tumor growth and reverse EGFR-TKI resistance in non-small cell lung cancer Aim: The current study aims to investigate the critical role of the focal adhesion kinase (FAK) oncogenic signaling pathway in mediating drug resistance to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-tyro...

What if drug-resistant lung cancer cells have a hidden control switch we can target to make treatments work again?

New pub show that blocking FAK plus EGFR drugs cuts long-term survival in colony assays, and was quantified with our #GelCount.

#LungCancer #DrugResistance

Genome-scale CRISPR screens identify PTGES3 as a direct modulator of androgen receptor function in advanced prostate cancer - Nature Genetics Genome-wide CRISPRi screens for modulators of androgen receptor (AR) protein levels using live-cell quantitative endogenous AR fluorescence reporters identify PTGES3 as a new regulator of AR stability...

Is a single helper protein quietly keeping androgen receptor signaling alive in prostate cancer?

In a new @nature.com publication, a @ucsfcancer.bsky.social team identified PTGES3 as direct AR modulator using #CRISPR screens. Colony assays were analyzed by #GelCount, linking biology to cell fate.

EXO1 as a therapeutic target for Fanconi Anaemia, ZRSR2 and BRCA1-A complex deficient cancers - Nature Communications EXO1 performs multiple roles in DNA replication and DNA damage repair (DDR), but its role in DDR-deficient cancers remains unclear. Here, the authors find EXO1 loss as synthetic lethal with many DDR genes involved in various cancers, including genes from Fanconi Anaemia pathway, BRCA1-A complex, and spliceosome factor ZRSR2; such interactions represent potential clinical targets.

What if blocking EXO1 could selectively kill FA/BRCA1-A/ZRSR2-deficient tumors?

New @nature.com study maps EXO1 synthetic-lethal partners and combo wins (PARPi, cisplatin, IR). Clonogenic survival imaged and analyzed with #GelCount across key figures (2-4).

#DNARepair #CancerResearch #Oncology

3D collagen high-throughput screen identifies drugs that induce epithelial polarity and enhance chemotherapy response in colorectal cancer - Communications Biology A 3D high-throughput screen in type I collagen is established to score drug efficacy by colony morphology, identifying three antibiotics that re-epithelialize colorectal cancer colonies and enhance ch...

What if flipping CRC colony morphology could boost chemo?

New @nature.com paper shows azithromycin drives re-epithelialization in 3D collagen and sensitizes to irinotecan. Validations used #GelCount to objectively count 3D colonies.

#CancerResearch #3DCulture

www.nature.com/articles/s42...

Contributions of DNA Double Strand Break Repair Pathways to DNA Crosslink Repair DNA crosslink-inducing drugs are widely used in clinical settings for treatment of solid tumors. Double strand breaks (DSBs) that arise during interst…

What if ICL repair isn’t one pathway’s job?

DNA Repair (2025): NHEJ, TMEJ & HR co-contribute to crosslink repair, with dependencies shifting when NHEJ is impaired. Survival readouts (Fig. 1, 3, 4) were supported by #GelCount to image and analyze the clonogenic assays.

#DNARepair #GenomeStability

UPR-induced intracellular C5aR1 promotes adaptation to the hypoxic tumour microenvironment - Cell Death & Disease Cell Death & Disease - UPR-induced intracellular C5aR1 promotes adaptation to the hypoxic tumour microenvironment

What if we’ve been aiming at the wrong surface?

Under <0.1% O₂, UPR drives intracellular C5aR1 that supports tumour cell survival — favouring cell-permeable inhibitors. #GelCount used to track 3D spheroid growth and to image/analyze clonogenic plates.

#Hypoxia #Spheroids #ClonogenicAssay

Object Classification in Mammalian Cell Colony, Spheroid, and Organoid Counting Explores how automated imaging and analysis tools define inclusion and exclusion criteria in cell colony, spheroid, and organoid analysis. This article covers how systems like GelCount automate the de...

Are you really counting colonies, or just noise?
GelCount's multi-parameter object classification removes the guesswork—enabling clean, reproducible counts of colonies, spheroids, and organoids.
#Colony #Organoid #Spheroid #LabAutomation #GelCount #CancerResearch

Targeting BATF2-RGS2 axis reduces T-cell exhaustion and restores anti-tumor immunity - Molecular Cancer Objective This study aims to investigate the role of RGS2 in immune regulation in lung cancer (LC) and explore the regulatory relationship between RGS2 and BATF2 in modulating T cell exhaustion and tu...

New lung cancer research: BATF2-RGS2 axis drives T-cell exhaustion, limiting immunotherapy. RGS2↑ creates poor PD-1 response.

#GelCount automated colony counting validated 3D colonies (Supp Mat 3), enabling unbiased size/count analysis.

#Immunotherapy #LungCancer #CancerResearch #LabAutomation

The Combination of Temporal and Spatial Dose Fractionation in Microbeam Radiation Therapy Background: Microbeam radiation therapy (MRT) is an advanced preclinical approach in radiotherapy that utilizes spatially fractionated dose distributions by collimating x-rays into micrometer-wide, pl...

Discover how #TemporalFractionation & #SpatialFractionation in microbeam radiation therapy (#MRT) enhances normal lung cell survival while maintaining tumor control in lung cancer models. #GelCount was used to make accurate survival curves.
#CancerResearch #RadiationTherapy doi.org/10.3390/biom...