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Stem cells are pluripotent but unspecialized cells that can be cultured and expanded in vitro for long periods while maintaining their ability to self-renew. Under appropriate physiologic or experimental conditions, stem cells can differentiate into almost any cell type.
Differentiated stem cells are of great interest in drug discovery since they allow the functional analysis and screening of complex targets, such as multi-subunit ion channels, in their native environments. Stem cells, while presenting challenges at the laboratory bench, present us with a powerful tool for the production
of primary cells utilized in high-throughput screening (HTS).
Scientists in the Axxam Enabling Technologies group have applied their expertise to generate reporter genes containing mouse embryonic stem cells and adapt them for their use in HTS. In particular, we have developed a system that utilizes mouse embryonic stem cells that stably
express reporter genes such as photoproteins.
The resultant transfected embryonic stem cells:
- express the reporter gene
- retain their ability to differentiate into any cell lineage
- can be used for different screening methods
- or can be used to generate transgenic mice capable of expressing the photoprotein coding sequence in vivo.
As a result, we have combined the power of stem cells with the sensitivity of primary cells through the introduction of reporter genes to allow the development of very sensitive functional cell-based screening assays for HTS applications. |
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