Advancing the Study of Apoptosis

May 25, 2009 – 10:32 am

gary-johnson1Featuring Gary Johnson and his team at Immunochemistry Technologies LLC.

The ability to accurately measure apoptosis processes is a core  research component for many of our customers and colleagues.  Neuromics has leveraged our growing partnership with Gary and ICT to meet the exacting requirements of  Researchers studying apoptosis.

I am excited to be featuring Gary and his company in our June News Behind the News. Gary and his team have

Polycaspase Apoptsis

Polycaspase Apoptsis

proven to me time  and again the ability to deliver methods and kits that meet our customers’ needs.  I can count on the feedback to be positive and use to expand in user labs.

In the feature, I will provide details of Gary’s unique background. The path that lead him to founding ICT and the development of current capabilities. Most importantly, I will provide a glimpse of coming new methods and products. These could significantly improve the development of therapies for diseases that involve aptotosis.

Image: Jurkat cells dually stained with Hoechst and Polycaspase Assay Kit, green-FAM-VAD-FMK. Caspase activity is revealed by green fluorescence in cell #2, indicating that only this cell is apoptotic. Cell #1 is also dying (scattered blue), but is not apoptotic because it is not green. Cell #3 is healthy (concentrated blue nucleus).

By Pete Shuster | Posted in Apoptosis, featured researchers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Knockdown of rSNSR1 in vivo

April 20, 2009 – 10:54 am

I have featured successes with delivering siRNA in vivo in this blog. These included stories on Dr. Philipe Serrat and his team at the University of Sherbrooke and Dr. Mark Behlke’s work at Integrated DNA and Dicerna.

I am pleased to report the parade of success with use our i-FectTM in vivo grows. 

Here’s the most recent study:

Christian Ndong, Amynah Pradhan, Carole Puma, Jean-Pierre Morello, Cyrla Hoffert, Thierry Groblewski , Dajan O’Donnell, Jennifer M.A. Laird. Role of rat sensory neuron-specific receptor (rSNSR1) in inflammatory pain: Contribution of TRPV1 to SNSR signaling in the pain pathway. PAIN 143 (2009) 130–137.
…For experiments in which siRNA was delivered by bolus injections, 10 ul of siRNA or vehicle was injected directly into the intrathecal catheter once daily for 4 days. In this case, siRNAs were prepared immediately prior to administration by mixing the RNA solution (200 uM in annealing buffer) with the transfection reagent i-FectTM (Neuromics) at a ratio of 1:4 (w:v) for a final siRNA/ lipid complex concentration of 2 ug/10 ul…

Related Data:


Images: in vivo characterization of knockdown produced by rSNSR1 siRNA. (A) A dose-dependent decrease in rSNSR1 mRNA levels measured in lumbar L3/L4/L5 DRGs was
observed when rSNSR1 siRNA (n = 7–14/group) or MM siRNA (n = 6/group) was delivered by four daily bolus injections. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001 as determined by oneway analysis of variance followed by sequential testing. (B) rSNSR1 immunoreactivity in dorsal horn of the spinal cord was visibly reduced in rSNSR1 siRNA-treated animals (5 lg/day, left panel). Immunoreactivity with neuron-specific isolectin B4 (IB4; right panel) did not change between treatment groups, showing the integrity of each dorsal horn analyzed (n = 6/group). (C) A semi-quantitative score of rSNSR1 immunoreactivity showed that siRNA treatment greatly decreased rSNSR1 protein levels compared to MM and control groups. A blinded observer scored 9–12 individual sections taken from a 1 cm segment of the spinal cord.

By Pete Shuster | Posted in Pain Research, i-Fect Transfection Kits, siRNA | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (2)

Primary Neurons Culturing Expertise

April 6, 2009 – 2:03 pm

hippocampal_neurons_1_weekI recently featured Dr. Evanna Gleason.  As part of this, we highlighted her lab’s epertise in culturing our E18 Primary Rat Hippocampal Neurons. 

I recently received impressive data and protocols from Emily Mcmains, a lab member.hippocampal_neurons_4-days

Please note the excellent image of the cells 1 week after culturing and images taken after 4 days.

Hippocampal Neurons Protocol
Courtesy of Emily McMains (Gleason Lab), LSU.

By Pete Shuster | Posted in Neuron Cultures, People, featured researchers | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Consistent Human Neurons

March 25, 2009 – 10:16 am

We have featured Dr. Steve Stice here. He and his team at UGA and Aruna Biomedical are developing products that are highly desired by Neuroscience Researchers.

We are in the process of finalizing details for distributing their human neuron cultures. Here is the related press release:

ArunA Biomedical, Inc. announces alliance with Neuromics for distribution of normal human neural cells.
Athens, Georgia – - March 23, 2009 – - ArunA Biomedical, Inc., announced today an agreement with Neuromics, Inc. of Edina, MN, giving Neuromics the right to non-exclusively market and sell the ArunA hN2™ Human Neural Cells and Neural Culture Medium to support applications in neurological research.ArunA has an exclusive worldwide license to develop and commercialize neural cells derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESC), and hN2 is a second generation product from this technology. These cells offer a consistent population of normal human neural cells that the neural research and pharmaceutical market highly desires.

 “ArunA has further developed its adherent monolayer technology by creating hN2™, a normal human neural cell ideal for drug screening, toxicology studies and basic neural research, and we are pleased to have Neuromics as a distribution partner,” said David Ray, Chief Executive Officer  of ArunA Biomedical

“Neuromics growth is catalyzed by offering the unique products and expertise our customers require for research success through strategic alliances with companies like ArunA Biomedical. This relationship represents a growth opportunity for us. Their hN2™ cells fill a stated research need of the Neuroscience Community and we look forward to our customers having these cells and the related new discoveries they will help generate,” said Pete Shuster, CEO and Owner of Neuromics.

Founded in 2003, ArunA Biomedical, Inc. is a privately held biotechnology corporation dedicated to the discovery, manufacturing and commercialization of emerging new technologies in human embryonic stem cell research for use in drug discovery and neuroscience research.

Founded in 2003, Neuromics is a privately held Bio-regents Company focusing on providing research ready and proven products and methods expertise to Neuroscience, Diabetes/Obesity, Immunology and Researchers.
 
This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding the company’s potential impact on scientific research and collaborations with third parties.  Certain conditions could alter the outcome or progress of these statements including but not limited to unexpected manufacturing issues, product performance and quality control/assurance issues.  Forward- looking statements are based on the opinions, beliefs and expectations of the company or individuals quoted in the press release and the company does not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements if circumstances change. 

By Pete Shuster | Posted in Companies, Stem Cell Research, synaptic transmission | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Featuring Dr. Evanna Gleason

March 19, 2009 – 9:51 am

 Spotlighting How Retinal Neurons Communicate

About Dr. Evanna Gleason

Dr. Evanna Gleason

Dr. Evanna Gleason

Background:

1996-Current-Associate Professor, LSU

1993-1996-Post Doc, UC San Diego

1991-1992-Post Doc, UC Davis-Wilson Lab

1990 Ph. D- UC San Diego

1984 Undergrad-ASU

How do neurons communicate across synapses? Finding answers to this is of central interest to many of our customers and colleagues. After all, it is the transmission of signals across synapses that collectively orchestrate our perceptions.

Abnormal transmission is at the root of many neuro-disorders that plague society. Research in the cell and molecular biology of synapse transmission is a piece of the puzzle in discovering cures.

This leads to why I am honored to feature Dr. Evanna Gleason and her work on how Retinal Neurons Communicate. She and her team focus on how retinal synapses are specialized to transmit visual information. Her work adds to the body of understanding of the processes that enable us to see.

Beginnings

Assembling the pieces of Evanna’s research begin with her graduate work in Dr. Martin Wilson’s lab at UC Davis. Here she developed the culturing techniques required to study transmission between isolated pairs of amacrine cells. These techniques enabled the lab to study the firing of individual neurons and created the platform for her current research Here are related publications:

E Gleason, S Borges and M Wilson. Synaptic transmission between pairs of retinal amacrine cells in culture. Journal of Neuroscience, Vol 13, 2359-2370, Copyright © 1993 by Society for Neuroscience.

Gleason E., Borges S., Wilson M. Control of transmitter release from retinal amacrine cells by Ca2+ influx and efflux. Neuron 1994.  Nov;13(5):1109-17.

More on Amacrine Cells-Amacrine cells operate at the inner plexiform layer (IPL), the second synaptic retinal layer where bipolar cells and retinal ganglion cells synapse. There are about 40 different types of amacrine cells, most lacking axons. Like horizontal cells, amacrine cells work laterally affecting the output from bipolar cells, however, their tasks are often more specialized. Each type of amacrine cell connects with a particular type of bipolar cell, and generally has a particular type of neurotransmitter. One such population, AII, ‘piggybacks’ rod bipolar cells onto the cone bipolar circuitry. It connects rod bipolar cell output with cone bipolar cell input, and from there the signal can travel to the respective ganglion cells.They are classified by the width of their field of connection, which layer(s) of the stratum in the IPL they are in, and by neurotransmitter type. Most are inhibitory using either GABA or glycine as neurotransmitters.

 Developmental Neurobiology 

Evanna did her post doc in Dr. Nick Spitzer’s lab at UC-San Diego. She studied the development of voltage-dependent ion channels and neurotransmitter receptors in the embryo. The focus in the lab was more on systems assembly and differentiation vs the study of synaptic transmission between individual neurons.

Although an interesting sidetrack, Evanna shared with me that her passion is the study of synaptic transmission in retinal neurons. This bring us to her current work.

From San Diego to Baton Rouge

I became acquainted with Evanna in a phone follow up concerning use of our E18 Primary Rat Hippocampal Neurons. This conversation proved enlightening as she provided specific insight on what she did with the cultures. Growing healthy an robust cultures was the easy part.

I learned that she and her team at LSU have the experience and expertise required to indentify and isolate amacrine cells. She shared how the cells were then used for studying the role of Nitric Oxide (NO) and Chloride (Cl-) in synaptic modulation and provided me with related data. This data proved to be of interest to a cross section of customers and colleagues studying synaptic transmission. Here’s the resulting publication and sample data:  

gaba_currentsFigures: Higher concentrations of NO promote a positive shift in EGABA. A and B, top traces: raw data from ruptured-patch voltage-clamp recordings of GABA-gated currents from a representative cell before and after NO application. GABA pulses (20 µM) were 300 ms in duration and are indicated by horizontal bars. A: whole cell, voltage-clamp recordings (Cs+-A internal and TEA-A external) of GABA-gated currents reveal that higher concentrations of NO induce a transient, several-fold enhancement of GABA-gated currents. *, NO-dependent current observed prior to the 2nd GABA application. B: same experiment as in A, using air-exposed NO solution. Raw data in A and B are from same cell. Scale bars are 150 pA, 1 s. C: amacrine cell is held at the predicted EGABA. GABA is applied for 300 ms during each trace. No GABA-gated currents are observed until application of NO. *, NO-dependent current. Scale bars are 25 pA, 5 s. D: voltage ramps in GABA were delivered before and after addition of NO. Leak-subtracted currents reveal a shift in EGABA after NO application (gray trace). Inset: subtraction of the NO-induced shift in reversal potential reveals an increase in the slope of the GABA-gated current-voltage relationship after NO injection (gray trace). Scale bars are 100 pA, 20 mV. E: mean EGABA values are plotted over time. F: representative GABA-gated currents from voltage ramps delivered after a 11-min treatment with 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ; 2 µM). Black trace, before NO injection; Gray trace, after NO injection. G: ODQ did not block the NO-induced shift in EGABA (P = 0.83, n = 5).

As I learned from from this and my interview with Evanna: she and her team are assembling a clearer picture of the relationship between NO, Cl-  and what is happing at  GABAergic synapses.

I plan to keep my eyes on how the puzzle grows and communicate the discoveries that bring the picture into clearer focus.  We will specifically be focused on the impact of Evanna’s research contributions to the overall understanding. of  how messages are communicated in the CNS and PNS.

What’s Next

Evanna indicated to me the potential of her using siRNA to do gene expression analysis.  As outlined in previous News Behind the Neuroscience News postings, this is near and dear to me. The ability to switch on and off genes involved in transmission will undoubtedly enhance the platform and drive new discoveries. 

By Pete Shuster | Posted in People, featured researchers, synaptic transmission | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments (2)

March Profile-Dr. Evanna Gleason

February 27, 2009 – 9:10 am

Coming soon…evanna_gleasonNow for something completely different…Synaptic Transmission Research.

I am pleased to be featuring Dr. Evanna Gleason.  I selected her because She and her team’s research is a basic component of most areas  Neuroscience Research including pain, neurodegeneration, vision, TBI, SCI, drug addiction, neuro-disorders and more…This base component is how neurons communicate with other cells at synapses. 

She focuses on synaptic transmission in the vertebrate retina. Retinal neurons have distinctive anatomical and physiological properties that suggest they employ unique synaptic mechanisms. The long term objective her research is to understand how retinal synapses are specialized to transmit visual information.

More to come in March!

By Pete Shuster | Posted in People, Synaptic Transmissiom, featured researchers | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Spinal Cord Injury and Substance-P

January 24, 2009 – 2:06 pm

I have featured Dr. Matt Ramer  and his research on Spinal Cord Injury. The focus was sensory and autonomic neuron repair.

As an update, I would like to share a publication that references SCI and our Substance-P antibody. Here Dr. Paul Dolber et al. found Substance P detected immunohistochemically in the sacral parasympathetic nucleus was significantly higher in 12 SCI rats than in 12 spinally intact rats (P = 0.008), suggesting substance P as a plausible candidate for the primary afferent neurotransmitter. raises the possibility that substance P may be important in the afferent limb of the spinal micturition reflex that develops about a week after spinal cord transection. This could provide a clue to alleviating urinary disorders related to SCI.

Xiaoyang Zhang, Kristy L.Douglas, Huixia Jin, Bassem M. Eldaif, Rashid Nassar, Matthew O. Fraser, and Paul C. Dolber. Sprouting of substance P-expressing primary afferent central terminals and spinal micturition reflex NK1 receptor dependence after spinal cord injury. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 295: R2084-R2096, 2008. doi:10.1152/ajpregu.90653.2008.

…guinea pig anti- Substance-P (cat. no. GP14103, Neuromics, Minneapolis, MN) used at 1:1,000…

By Pete Shuster | Posted in Spinal Cord Injury | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (1)

The Quest for Better Pain Therapies

January 15, 2009 – 7:18 pm

G- protein coupled receptor (GPCR) and Drug Responsiveness

About Dr. Laura Bohn 

bohn1

Dr. Laura Bohn

 Background:

Spring 2009-Associate Professor (tenured) at The Scripps Research Institute, Department of Molecular Therapeutics, Jupiter, FL.

10/2007- Associate Professor (tenured), The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Departments of Pharmacology and Psychiatry, Program in Pharmacogenomics

8/2003-9/2007 Assistant Professor, The Ohio State University College of Medicine,

1/1999–8/2003 Post-Doc/Assistant Research Professor. Duke University Medical Center, Department of Cell Biology. Durham, NC. 

 

 

My company’s foundation is built on serving pain researchers. As a result, I have the good fortune of working with customers and collaborators who openly share the subtleties of their research and the future impact it could have on improving pain therapies.

Pain is complex. Today, pain therapies often fall short and are rife with unwelcome side effects. This undesrcores why I am pleased to feature Dr. Laura Bohn. She and her team are probing ways to improve  response effectiveness and reduce side effects.

 Beginnings

The story starts with Laura’s Post Doc work in Dr. Marc Caron’s lab at Duke University.  Marc in Collaboration with Dr. Dr. Robert Lefkowitz genetically engineered mice that lacked a protein switched called  “beta-arrestin 2.”  This switch is part of the opioid pathway that regulates how we perceive pain. The GPCR, muOpioid (mOR) is the primary target for narcotic pain killers, like morphine.

In her initial work, Laura found that morphine treated mice lacking the beta-arrestin2 switch swere able to tolerate  mild pain stimuli up to 3X longer than normal mice.  These mice had a higher level of sensitivity to morphine both in magnitude and duration. 

Bingo. This path for Laura’s excellent journey is now lit…understanding how the molecular regulation of G protein coupled receptors (GPCR) can translate to overall drug responsiveness in vivo.  Getting better response from lower dose is all good.

Current Work

As a researcher at Ohio State University, Laura and her team have continued to broaden and deepen their understanding of  GPCR signaling and beta-arrestin desensitivation (figure 1).

gpcr_regulation 

She is currently doing research with mice that have genetic deletions of GRKs (GRK3, GRK4, GRK5, and GRK6; heterozygotes for GRK2) and barrestin-2.

This expands the playing field. This expansion includes  studying other GCPR related pathways. Serotonin 2A receptors (5-HT2ARs), for example, are molecular targets for drug-induced hallucinations:

Cullen L. Schmid, Kirsten M. Raehal, and Laura M. Bohn. Agonist-directed signaling of the serotonin 2A receptor depends on β-arrestin-2 interactions in vivo. Published online on January 14, 2008, 10.1073/pnas.0708862105.

The conclusion: 5-HT2AR–β-arrestin interaction may be particularly important in receptor function in response to endogenous serotonin levels, which could have major implications in drug development for treating neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression and schizophrenia.

Future Considerations

I look for Laura and her team to continue the quest of doing more for less when it comes to novel pain and other therapies. Further success would provide the foundation for the development of therapies that would require less dosing, better response and reduced side effects.

Laura mentioned to me that further directions could involve the use of gene silencing tools like siRNA. The effects of silencing GPCR-beta-Arrestin receptors in-vivo would be an important study as it would enable she and her team to study  impact of  desensitivation on the repsonse to morphine and other drugs by normal mice.

By Pete Shuster | Posted in Pain Research, People, Stories, featured researchers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Featuring Dr. Laura Bohn

December 25, 2008 – 10:05 pm
Dr. Laura Bohn

Dr. Laura Bohn

January’s Story: Decoupling GPCR Pain Therapies from Destructive Side Effects. 

We are pleased to have Dr. Laura Bohn as our “coming soon” featured researcher. 

She caught my attention when she referenced one of our  Opioid Receptor Antibodies in the publication: C. E. Groer, K. Tidgewell, R. A. Moyer, W. W. Harding, R. B. Rothman, T. E. Prisinzano, and L. M. Bohn. An Opioid Agonist that Does Not Induce µ-Opioid Receptor—Arrestin Interactions or Receptor Internalization. DOI: 10.1124/mol.106.028258.

She, her team and callaborators are focused on an interesting and important aspect of pain therapies discovery…finding ways to de-couple the benefits of opiate based pain medications from their current side-effects including constipation, respiratory suppression and addiction.

I am looking forward to drilling into the specifics of this important research.

By Pete Shuster | Posted in Pain Research, People, Stories, featured researchers | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Isolating and Maintaining Embryonic Stem Cells

December 3, 2008 – 6:24 pm

I have featured Steve Stice and his team at ArunA Biomedical and UGA. They are pioneers in developing Embryonic Stem Cell Based Cultures and Assays for Drug Discovery and Basic Research. Given the importance of their work, I am commited to keeping my finger on the pulse of their advances and discoveries.

Here they isolate, and maintain in culture, neural progenitors demonstrating properties of these neural epithelial cells from WA09 human embryonic stem cells (hESCs):

D.W. Machacek, S. K. Dhara, C. Sturkie, K. Hasneen, D. Carter, L. Murrah Hanson, P.R. MacLeish, M. Benveniste, S.L. Stice. DIFFERENTIATION OF HUMAN EMBRYONIC STEM CELL DERIVED NEURAL PROGENITORS INTO FUNCTIONALLY RESPONSIVE POPULATIONS IN THE ABSENCE OF EXOGENOUS EGF.

By Pete Shuster | Posted in Companies, People, Stem Cell Research, featured researchers | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (1)