PhotoStem is a mouse embryonic stem cell (mES) line stably expressing a calcium-sensitive photoprotein as a reporter gene (Photina®). This cell line has the ability to differentiate into any cell lineage upon applications of specific protocols and the primary-like cells obtained upon differentiation express the calcium sensitive reporter gene Photina®.

PhotoStem cells have been successfully differentiated into cardiomiocytes and neuronal like cells directly in the miniaturized 384 MTP format and used for screening applications.

In addition, our scientists at Axxam have optimized a protocol to prepare and freeze bulk of cells at an intermediated stage of differentiation and enriched in neural precursor cells (NPCs). These Neural Precursor Cells can be considered and used as a reagent that can be thaw and immediately seed in 384 MTP. Starting from 7 days after thawing a fully functional neuronal population is available for test.

The homogenous results obtained with NPC and the consistent reduction of differentiation time make this frozen batch of Neuronal Precursor Cells a powerful tool for High Throughput Screening purposes.

The use of engineered mouse stem cells and the derived primary cells in HTS campaigns offers new and valuable opportunities for studying complex targets, such as multi-subunit ion channels and GPCRs, in a more native environment enabling the study of targets previously impossible to address.

Axxam makes PhotoStem reporter cell line available through licensing agreements. If you are interested in using it for your research or discovery, please contact us