cell biology

Autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) is an effective treatment strategy for multiple myeloma (MM) but isolating enough hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) for transplantation can be challenging. The selective CXCR4 inhibitor motixafortide has been shown to be a safe and efficacious HSPC mobilization agent in a phase 2 trial when paired with G-CSF. Crees et al. (2023) report the results of the phase 3 trial, in which they used the ZE5 Cell Analyzer to explore motixafortide’s mobilizing effects.

Protein expression analysis is essential in cell biology research, as it provides valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms that underlie cellular functions. Traditional methods for protein analysis, such as western blotting and ELISA, are useful for studying protein expression in cell lysates. However, these methods require labor-intensive sample preparation and do not provide information on the spatial distribution of proteins within intact cells. In-Cell Western is a powerful technique that enables quantitative and qualitative in situ protein expression analysis.

In December 2022, a groundbreaking law was passed granting the U.S. FDA the authority to consider data from new alternative methods in the preclinical testing phase for new drug development. Among the new methods are 3D cell cultures that mimic human tissues and organs, known as microphysiological systems (MPS). The new law aims to improve clinical outcomes while decreasing reliance on animal testing. In this article, we discuss MPS and review data showing how they can synergize with Bio-Plex Assays.

With the advancement of technology, flow cytometers are now able to detect a much greater range of fluorescent dyes, facilitating the analysis of more extensive and complex multicolor immunophenotyping assays. But this has also introduced more pitfalls to navigate during the design of these experiments. Find out how StarBright Dyes can help circumvent many of these issues, enabling consistent and reliable results.

Watch this webinar to learn how a novel workflow can efficiently isolate CTCs for diverse downstream applications, without disrupting their native biology.

Understanding how T cells respond to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is critical in developing long-term therapeutic approaches, as well as helping inform strategies for future pandemics. Learn how one team at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology in San Diego, California, has been using novel T-cell activation assays to understand how our immune system responds to SARS-CoV-2.

Research into human diseases has led to the development of novel monoclonal antibody drugs. These monoclonal antibody therapies have been successful because of their specificity and selectivity. However, ongoing development and successfully launching a new mAb drug require robust and reliable methods to screen for drug targets, demonstrate drug safety and efficacy, and scale up manufacturing to meet the stringent regulatory guidelines required for approval.

The ability to characterize the target of cell-mediated immune response is crucial during vaccine development. In studying the characterization of SARS-CoV-2 infection pathogenesis in humans, a research team identified neutralizing antibodies that provided context for vaccine antigen design. Discover how the ZE5 Cell Analyzer was used to detect activation-induced markers, measure intracellular cytokines, and identify spike protein–specific antibodies in a rapid, high-throughput manner.

Stem cells possess the remarkable potential to self-renew and to differentiate into many different types of cells. Due to their unique ability to regenerate, they are being used in regenerative medicine and offer great hope for treating diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. However, since stem cells represent a rare population of cells, they are not always easy to study. See how the simplicity, efficiency, and flexibility of cell sorting is making it possible to isolate pure populations of stem cells for downstream analyses.

The power to edit a gene is the power to change its function, and with it the biology of a cell. From generating novel cell lines and better animal models for the discovery and preclinical phases of therapeutic research to actually creating a therapeutic itself, CRISPR gene editing is allowing science to advance rapidly. See how enrichment and cell sorting can help generate edited cells faster and more reliably.