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Biomarker detection


Biomarkers are measurable indicators of particular diseases or physiological processes. They are widely studied throughout all stages of drug development to determine the presence and/or remission of a disease. At Ncardia we generate iPSC-derived healthy or diseased models that express the biomarkers of interest and develop accurate biomarker detection assays to provide valuable insights on compound safety and efficacy.

Assay
Benefits
  • Precise treatment response
  • Multiplexing options
  • Customization available to fit your needs
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Applications

Biomarkers used in the clinic for diagnosis and disease prognosis can be displayed by our iPSC-derived in vitro models. This helps find efficacious treatments based on clinically relevant readouts and detect unsafe drugs as early as possible. Our scientists develop and execute a number of customized sensitive assays for the detection of biomarkers:

  • ELISA/AlphaLISA
  • Homogeneous Time Resolved Fluorescence (HTRF)
  • High content imaging
  • FACS
  • Western Blot
  • q-PCR
AlphaLISA HCI HTRF

Multiparametric functional and structural cardiac safety analysis with Ncardia’s human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes

Cardiac troponin is a known biomarker that is released into circulation after cardiomyocyte structural damage. Many new therapeutic candidates are withdrawn because they induce this type of damage in the heart. In this example, our team combined AlphaLISA with impedance analysis to assess Troponin I release, contractility and viability after treatment with known cardiotoxic compounds.

Treatment of human iPSC-cardiomyocytes with Doxorubicin 1uM, a known cardiotoxic compound, led to increased beat duration and decreased amplitude in a time-dependent manner.

High-throughput screening of anti-hypertrophy drugs based on NT-proBNP biomarker detection using high content imaging

To identify new treatments for cardiac hypertrophy, our scientists generated an iPSC-derived model of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and used high content imaging in a secondary screening of 341 compounds for hit validation. The intracellular expression of NT-proBNP, biomarker of cardiac hypertrophy, was used as readout to study the anti-hypertrophic compound effect.

Quantification of total nuclear area (left) and BNP expression (right) in the presence or absence of ET-1

Analysis of neuroinflammatory biomarkers in activated Ncyte Astrocytes with HTRF

HTRF assay can detect the activation of intracellular phospho-proteins and secreted proteins that modulate neuroinflammation, providing a platform to determine the efficacy of potential anti-inflammatory treatments for neurodegenerative diseases.

Study of the activation state of NFKB and IL-6 release levels in human iPSC-derived astrocytes after exposure to 3 increasing doses of a pro-inflammatory cocktail.
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Questions about our assays?

Our work centers on a simple yet powerful premise: 
When we combine deep iPSC knowledge, broad assay capabilities and a demonstrated ability to integrate the biology of human diseases into preclinical research, we can help drug developers make critical decisions earlier and with more confidence.