Human inducibe pluripotent stem cell (hiPSCs) – based platform for sex-specific drug screening in neural crest-derived tissues

The project led by PD Dr. Nicole Bechmann at TU Dresden, in collaboration with Prof. Cynthia Andoniadou, is tackling a critical gap in cancer treatment: how men and women respond differently to therapies. Historically, many studies focused only on males, overlooking sex differences that can lead to more side effects or worse outcomes for women. Focusing on tumors like melanomas and paragangliomas, which originate from neural crest cells and show distinct patterns-melanomas more common in men, paragangliomas in women-this initiative aims to change that.

The team is building a platform using human inducible pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) with male (XY) or female (XX) chromosomes from the same patient. They’ll introduce tumor-specific mutations, common in melanomas, to create a melanoma model. The project has three main goals: First, they’ll generate these mutated stem cells. Second, they’ll develop a reliable method to turn them into melanocyte-like cells, studying how sex and mutations affect the process. Third, they’ll test drugs like vemurafenib and trametinib to see how treatment responses differ between sexes, aiming to improve drug safety and effectiveness.

From June to December 2025, Dr. Bechmann’s team will use advanced techniques like CRISPR/Cas9, RNA sequencing, and drug screening, supported by Prof. Andoniadou’s expertise. The work, backed by Dresden exists for a future start-up, will also be patented. Long-term, this platform could expand to other tumors and mutations, offering a toolbox for personalized, sex-specific cancer care. With 75,000 € in funding, this project promises to make treatments safer and more effective for everyone.