Le cancer du sein de phénotype « Basal-like » triple négatif (BLTN) est particulièrement agressif et de mauvais pronostic. Il est insensible aux traitements hormonaux laissant pour seule stratégie de traitement la chimiothérapie conventionnelle. De ce fait, de nouvelles thérapeutiques ciblées sont en développement, tels que les inhibiteurs de la Poly-ADP-Ribose-Polymerase (PARP). Dans ce contexte, nos travaux de recherche ont été orientés sur l’optimisation du traitement des cancers du sein BLTN en modélisant l’action d’un anti-PARP modèle, l’Olaparib sur la lignée SUM1315 de phénotype BLTN. Dans un premier temps, l’étude de la coexpression de la BCRP et de la P-gp, deux protéines « Multidrug Resistance » (MDR) majeures en présence de 50 µM d’Olaparib® a montré une induction de leurs expressions chez les cellules SUM1315, avec une réponse de type relais. La BCRP établirait une première ligne de défense cellulaire et son action serait ensuite relayée par la P-gp durant 24h de traitement. Ce mécanisme est en corrélation avec la concentration intracellulaire d’Olaparib mesurée par HPLC. L’ensemble de nos résultats suggère qu’il serait possible de contourner le mécanisme de résistance induit par les protéines MDR si une concentration stable en Olaparib est maintenue dans les cellules à long terme. Nous avons ensuite étudié la potentialisation de l’action de l’Olaparib en le combinant avec un traitement par radiothérapie à basse et haute énergie, sur la viabilité des cellules de la lignée SUM1315. La comparaison des résultats avec un traitement Olaparib seul ou irradiation seule et ceux des traitements combinés Olaparib/radiothérapie a alors mis en évidence un effet synergique des deux traitements sur la viabilité cellulaire. L’effet synergique de cette combinaison fonctionne même avec de faibles doses d’Olaparib. De cette manière, il serait possible de réduire les doses d’anti-PARP utilisées tout en gardant les bénéfices du traitement. Enfin, nous avons développé deux techniques de cultures cellulaires en trois dimensions (i) « hanging drop » et (ii) « liquid overlay », permettant de mimer plus fidèlement les conditions des tumeurs in vivo. L’observation en microscopie électronique à transmission et à balayage des sphéroïdes obtenus par ces deux techniques a permis de démontrer l’intégrité des cellules au sein des sphéroïdes ainsi que la formation de jonctions cellulaires. Cependant, les sphéroïdes obtenus en « liquid overlay » ont montré une meilleure intégrité ultra-structurale. / « Triple Negative Basal-Like » (BLTN) breast cancer is particularly aggressive and of poor prognosis. It is insensitive to hormone-targeted therapies leaving conventional chemotherapy as the only treatment strategy. Therefore, new promising targeted therapies are being developed, such as Poly-ADP-Ribose-Polymerase inhibitors (anti-PARPs). In this context, our research has been directed towards optimizing the treatment of BLTN breast cancer by modelling the action of an anti-PARP model, Olaparib®, on BLTN cell line SUM1315. Firstly, the study of the co-expression of BCRP and P-gp, two major “Multidrug Resistance” proteins (MDR) in the presence of 50 µM Olaparib® showed an induction of their expression in SUM1315 cells, with a relay-type response. BCRP would establish a first line of cellular defense and its action would then be taken over by P-gp, for 24h of treatment. This mechanism is correlated with the intracellular concentration of Olaparib® measured by HPLC. All of our results suggest that it would be possible to circumvent the induced MDR resistance mechanism if a stable concentration of Olaparib® is maintained in cells in the long term. Secondly, we studied the potentiation of the action of Olaparib® combining it with low and high-energy radiations on the viability of SUM1315 cells. Comparison of the results with single Olaparib®, single irradiation, or the combination of Olaparib®/radiotherapy then demonstrated a synergistic effect of the two treatments when delivered concomitantly, on cell viability. The synergistic effect of this combination works even with low doses of Olaparib®. In this way it would be possible to reduce the anti-PARP doses while maintaining the benefits of this treatment. Finally, we have developed two techniques of cell culture in three dimensions: (i) "hanging drop" and (ii) "liquid overlay", in order to mimic more accurately the conditions of tumours in vivo. Observations of spheroids obtained by these two techniques by transmission and scanning electron microscopy demonstrated the integrity of cells within as well as the formation of cell junctions. However, the spheroids obtained by "liquid overlay" showed better ultra-structural integrity.

High-throughput drug screening (HTS) in live cells is often a vital part of the preclinical anticancer drug discovery process. So far, two-dimensional (2D) monolayer cell cultures have been the most prevalent model in HTS endeavors. However, 2D cell cultures often fail to recapitulate the complex microenvironments of in vivo tumors. Monolayer cultures are highly proliferative and generally do not contain quiescent cells, thought to be one of the main reasons for the anticancer therapy failure in clinic. Thus, there is a need for in vitro cellular models that would increase predictive value of preclinical research results. The utilization of more complex three-dimensional (3D) cell cultures, such as multicellular tumor spheroids (MCTS), which contain both proliferating and quiescent cells, has therefore been proposed. However, difficult handling and high costs still pose significant hurdles for application of MCTS for HTS. In this work, we aimed to develop novel assays to apply MCTS for HTS and drug evaluation. We also set out to identify cellular processes that could be targeted to selectively eradicate quiescent cancer cells. In Paper I, we developed a novel MCTS-based HTS assay and found that nutrient-deprived and hypoxic cancer cells are selectively vulnerable to treatment with inhibitors of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). We also identified nitazoxanide, an FDA-approved anthelmintic agent, to act as an OXPHOS inhibitor and to potentiate the effects of standard chemotherapy in vivo. Subsequently, in Paper II we applied the high-throughput gene-expression profiling method for MCTS-based drug screening. This led to discovery that quiescent cells up-regulate the mevalonate pathway upon OXPHOS inhibition and that the combination of OXPHOS inhibitors and mevalonate pathway inhibitors (statins) results in synergistic toxicity in this cell population. In Paper III, we developed a novel spheroid-based drug combination-screening platform and identified a set of molecules that synergize with nitazoxanide to eradicate quiescent cancer cells. Finally, in Paper IV, we applied our MCTS-based methods to evaluate the effects of phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitors in PDE3A-expressing cell lines. In summary, this work illustrates how MCTS-based HTS yields potential to reveal and exploit previously unrecognized tumor-specific vulnerabilities. It also underscores the importance of cell culture conditions in preclinical drug discovery endeavors.