Retroviral Vectors with Integrated oriP/EBNA1 for IPSC

The new product of the week of Sep 21-27 is the retrovirus plasmid sets that contain a built-in episomal expression system. As we have discussed previously, OriP/EBNA1 system originated from Epstein-Bar virus, which allows the establishment of stable episomes at 5-20 copies per cell, and duplication once per cell division.

By using the oriP/EBNA1 episomal system, reprogramming cDNAs can be expressed at prolonged time period in reference to plasmid transfection, without integration into chromosomal DNA. A paper published in PLoS One on Sep 18, 2009 by Marchetto et al. showed that by using such a system (on different plasmids) the authors were able to create induced pluripotent stems cells (iPS cells,) effectively from human embryo neural precursor cells.

The Allele pCHAC-EBNA system has dual functions: it can be ready-to-use plasmids for episomal expression of Oct4, Sox2, c-Myc, Klf4, or Nanog and Lin28 by a simple transfection into target cells; it can also be packaged into retroviruses by transfecting into the Allele Phoenix Retrovirus packaging Eco or Ampho cells. This product group is officially launched today. It should become a highly convenient and unique tool for iPSC-related studies.

Tags: Ampho cells, EBNA, Eco cells, episomal expression, iPS cells, iPSC, iPSCs, New Product of the week, oriP, Phoenix Retroviral System, reprogramming, retroviral vector, retrovirus

Feeder Cells for Stem Cells

Allele’s entire iPSC product line is designed for the ease of the researcher. Each component in our iPSC catalog will shave priceless time off your protocol by eliminating the tedious steps in iPS induction so you can get down to work.

Allele is adding a major component to its iPSC line: pre-irradiated, ready-to-use, system specific, bFGF-Producing Feeder Cells for iPSC propagation!

Using Allele’s bFGF-Producing Feeder Cells avoids the usual problems associated with MEF cell lines. They are maintained at low passages, come pre-irradiated and ectopically express bFGF so there is no need to supplement your medium with additional growth factors.

Additionally, Allele Biotech is introducing human fibroblasts to the market for iPSC work. MEF is good for mouse iPSC reprogramming but human fibroblast feeders are preferred when creating human iPSCs due to their secreted factors. Propagate human iPSC with greater efficiency while eliminating non-human cells for therapeutic use of human iPSCs!

As always we encourage customer feed back. We are interested to hear about your stem cell work, needs, and requests for new products. We also welcome those who have new ideas and potential products to collaborate with us. We are here to help advance your research and get your technologies to the public.

If you are enjoying AlleleNews and AlleleBlogs: come back and check out our new Forum and FAQ Sections soon to be added to our blogs for quick product/service related exchange and messages of more user control.

Tags: ectopically expressed bFGF, feeder cells, human fibroblast, human iPSC, iPSC induction, optimized iPSC generation, pre-irradiated MEF cells, research help, system specific feeder cells, time efficient iPS generation

Allele Pre-packaged, Titer-determined, Validated iPS Generating Lentivirus Particles

Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) has been an important research area in the past 3 years. These cells have also provided unprecedented possibilities to study cell differentiation and tissue development to biologists in many fields. Allele pre-packaged iPS lentiviral particles are validated, ready-to-use, high quality reagents for any laboratory to create iPS cells. A straight-forward and optimized protocol is also provided for immediate use of these products. iPC cells can be produced typically in 2-3 weeks; but when used in combination with shRNA against p53 (also available from Allele), iPSCs can be produced in just about 5 days!

Follow iPS news on our news page.

Tags: iPS, lentiviral particles, lentivirus, optimized protocol for inducing iPSC, Pre-packaged viral particles, quick iPS induction, titer-determined, validated iPSC

Allele Mail Bag: Our discovery that stem cells and other cells can be non-invasively intranasally delivered to the brain.

A few words from the blog editor:  The Allele Mail Bag is a new feature we initiated here by this post on July 20, 2009.  We like to post some of the messages that our research, business development, or customer service staff receives through Allele’s published email boxes, e.g. oligo@allelebiotech.com (for ordering any product or service), iPS@allelebiotech.com, RNAi@allelebiotech.com, FP@allelebiotech.com, Vivec@allelebiotech.com (for consulting with Allele experts on each of the focus product group. FP: fluorescent proteins.  Vivec: viral vectors).  If we find your message to be suitable as a guest post on our blog, we will ask for your permission first.

In addition to any questions about any product, service, or R&D activity that Allele may provide or perform, we also encourage you to use our communication and social networking channels to help more people become aware of your own research progress.  After all, it is by the same principle of scientific information exchange through traditional channels such as publication in journals or presentation at meetings—the better we communicate the more science benefits.

Excerpt from a recent email to iPS@allelebiotech.com, with permission from Dr. Frey:

“Hi,
I am excited to tell you that along with my collaborators in Germany, especially Lusine Danielyan MD, I have discovered that stem cells and other therapeutic cells can be non-invasively delivered to the brain using the intranasal delivery method that I developed.  The first of our papers on this new discovery was just published in European Journal of Cell Biology.  I have attached a copy of this paper.  I am hopeful that this    breakthrough, that could revolutionize the stem cell industry and make stem    cell treatments practical by eliminating the need for invasive neurosurgical implantation of cells, can facilitate the development of stem cell therapies for Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, traumatic brain injury and many other brain disorders.

Best Regards,
—
William H. Frey II, Ph.D., Director
Alzheimer’s Research Center
Regions Hospital
640 Jackson St.
St. Paul, MN 55101
Professor of Pharmaceutics, Neurology
and Neuroscience
University of Minnesota”

Tags: Alzheimer, brain research, cutting edge research, iPS, iPS retroviral gene delivery, lentiviral iPS vectors, neurosurgical implantation, new discovery, non-invasive delivery, Parkinson's disease, stem cells, stroke

iPS- #1 Breakthrough of 2008 Now at Allele!

Hailed as Science Magazine’s “#1 Breakthrough of the Year” for 2008, induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell research is proving to be the most promising means of worldwide disease comprehension and eradication since the discovery of penicillin. iPS research is moving fast and institutions are racing to make the coveted advancements to: reveal the triggering and oppressing mechanisms of the four pluripotency inducing genes, elucidate how a cell is assigned a role by investigating cell protein signaling pathways, and reduce possible side effects like cancerous tumors at iPS cell therapy sites. As an in vitro reagent, iPS cells, unlike human cell lines, can be easily maintained in the lab. By maintaining iPS cell lines from patients with diseases like Parkinson’s it is possible for researchers to examine disease pathology in an affected living cell in ways that cannot be done with in vivo cells. Thanks to induced pluripotency, these cell lines can be created with simple, non-invasive hair follicle procurements! Additionally, juxtaposed to the 10 years of controversy following the discovery of human embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells will not elicit the same moral or bioethical dilemmas followed by political interference due to their fully developed origin.

Author of Breakthrough of the Year: Reprogramming Cells, Gretchen Vogel stated, “…several more breakthroughs are needed before cellular reprogramming yields its first cure for disease.” Researchers must take advantage of Allele Biotech’s ground-breaking iPS product line. Our scientists have done all the preliminary work to design and construct these easy to use iPS kits to make this phenomenal field of study accessible to all. The global challenge for iPS discovery has begun!

Tags: Allele Biotech, induced pluripotent stem cells, iPS, ips stem cell lines, research kits, science and bioethics, Science Magazine Top Breakthroughs, scientific breakthrough 2008, stem cell controversey