Introducing a selection of ovarian and breast cell lines, small molecules used in prostate cancer therapeutics, cytokines, peptides and NOD1 knock out cell lines as well as a range of different antibodies and fluorescent markers.
It’s been a challenging few months since the global spread of the Coronavirus pandemic, but those laboratories that didn’t stay open to focus on the virus, are starting to reopen with researchers able to return to their laboratories. Like many other Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs), we’ve been working as normally as we possibly can with reduced staff capacity and working hours. However, we’ve been delighted to still be forming new partnerships and adding new tools to our portfolio. We now have over 150 partnerships across 6 continents. Here are some of our newest partners and latest research tools:
Africa
A new partnership with the University of Ilorin, in Nigeria, had led to the addition of two new vectors: pCRBLUNT-HBsAg Vector and pGEM-β-globin Vector. pCRBLUNT-HBsAg Vector targets Hepatitis B surface antigens and was designed as a positive control for diagnostic applications. pGEM-β-globin Vector is ampicillin resistant and targets human β-globin. It is designed as a positive control for molecular studies.
Asia
New partnerships with institutions in Israel have been established including Tel Aviv University (Ramot) and Hadassah Medical Centre (Hadasit). New research tools from these institutions include:
- A series of prostate cancer cell lines from Weizmann Institute of Science: These cell lines support the study of prostate cancer by presenting an in vitro model system, enabling the study of human prostate cell differentiation and malignant transformation and supporting the understanding of biological behaviour of CAFs in cells.
- A group of ovarian and breast cancer cell lines from Hadassah Medical Center and Rambam Health Care Campus: These breast cell lines can serve as a platform for drug screening for cancer stem cells targeted compounds in vitro and in vivo.
- A range of fluorescent markers for the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of live pathogenic fungal cells from Ramot - Tel Aviv University: The ER is the site of action of antifungal azole drugs, used as a first-line treatment for fungal infections.
A small molecule from Osaka University has recently been added to the portfolio. This conjugate targets aminopeptidase N and exerts an antitumor effect in hepatocellular carcinoma stem cells.
Australasia
The first Ximbio-New Zealand partnership has recently been established with the University of Auckland. New research tools from this institute will be added to the portfolio shortly. Several of our Australian Technology Transfer partners have added new research tools to our portfolio. These include:
- A series of polyclonal antibodies used in HIV and immunotherapy studies to broadly neutralise antibodies (bNAbs). The antibodies can be used to generate absorbed sera, which contained antibodies against the viral DAG pre-fusion intermediates.
- Small molecules used in prostate cancer therapeutics. These compounds present an excellent starting point of the development of prostate cancer therapeutics for both androgen dependent and independent forms of this disease.
- Cytokines for allergy research. These cytokines bind to the IL-4 receptor, producing allergen-specific IgE antibodies by B cells.
- A group of monoclonal antibodies for use in Vibrio species that infect humans, shellfish and fish. These monoclonal antibodies provide rapid identifications for a range of pathogens. 102 MAbs were generated for potential diagnostic purposes.
- A range of CRISPR vectors that target the ROSA26 locus in mouse cells. These vectors contain GFP for positive transfection and integration control.
- A group of NOD1 knock out cell lines for use in gastric adenocarcinoma research. These cell lines can model gastric adenocarcinoma in the context of various pathogens as HOD1 usually responds to Helicobacter pylori infections.
Europe and the UK
Several new partnerships have been established recently across Europe including the University of Tartu in Estonia, I&I Prague and Institute of Biotechnology Prague (IBT) in the Czech Republic and Toulouse Tech Transfer (SATT) in France. New research tools from our European partnerships include:
- A group of peptides, useful as an affinity ligand to deliver diagnostic compounds into solid tumours. These peptides are used to transport siRNA into cells and are based on NickFect55, a peptide that can efficiently transport plasmid DNA into cells in vivo.
- Several monoclonal antibodies that target glutamate carboxypeptidase activity for use in prostate cancer research. GCPII is a leading biomarker of prostate cancer because of its upregulation of its expression in tumour tissue.
- Several monoclonal antibodies that target human histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6). HDAC6 is linked to several neuronal diseases and carcinogenesis. These monoclonal antibodies are immunospecific for the ZnF domain of HDAC6.
- A monoclonal antibody that targets Omomyc. Expression of Omomyc can induce rapid tumour regression in mouse models with little toxicity for normal tissues. This monoclonal antibody is capable of suppressing Myc-induced oncogenesis.
- A series of small molecules capable of replacing antibodies in biomedical applications such as ELISA, flow cytometry, confocal microscopy, immunocytochemistry, Western Blot and immunoprecipitation. These small molecules function as a targeting ligand, affinity anchor and/ or imaging probes.
North America
Our network of partners in North America has expanded to include a number of new Technology Transfer Offices including the University of Miami, the Puerto Rico Science, Technology & Research Trust, Rush University Medical Center and the University of North Texas. Several new research tools have also been added to the portfolio:
- A series of small molecules that can be used to inhibit the growth of several cancer cell line models and as a cell hypoxia marker in 2D and 3D colon cancer cell models.
- A range of monoclonal antibodies targeting the CLEC16A peptide. CLEC16A is a cytosolic protein which is differentially expressed in human immune cells and is known to be highly expressed on B-lymphocytes, natural killer (NK) and dendritic cells. It has been shown to regulate various immune pathways including directly regulating leukocyte antigen class II pathway in antigen presenting cells, autophagy, mitophagy, and NK cell cytotoxicity.
- A group of anti-DNA monoclonal antibodies. These antibodies were generated spontaneously and contributed to Systemic Lupus Erythematosus disease (SLE). Using these antibodies provides the opportunity to analyse the structure, function, and biology of autoantibodies. This is important to understand their contribution to the pathogenesis of SLE.
- A monoclonal antibody that targets Golgin. Golgin-97 resides on the cytoplasmic face of the Golgi and plays an essential role as tethering molecules on the TGN for retrograde traffic from the early and/or recycling endosomes.
South America
We are proud to announce a new partnership with Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile. New research tools from this Institute will be added to the portfolio shortly.
Although there is a lot of uncertainty at the moment, we will be continuing to add new partners and research tools to our portfolio. If you are interested in any of the products, or research areas listed above, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Alternatively, if there is a particular research area you find of interest, please do let us know.