Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are a unique subset of CD4+ T cells with immunosuppressive properties. As a result, they are currently being investigated as a cellular therapeutic for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and long-term patient and graft survival following solid organ transplantation, and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Studies in animal models suggest that the success of Treg cell therapy relies on the presence of a high number of Tregs in order to suppress the activities of effector T cells. Since the frequency of Tregs in the peripheral blood is low, Treg cell therapy typically requires that Tregs be isolated and expanded...
Blogs for January 2018
Immunology News: Researchers Demonstrate the Importance of Treg Subset Selection and sLeX Expression for Human Treg Immunotherapy
Wednesday, January 31, 2018 - 07:31
Simple Plex™ Assays used to measure Human Thymus and Activation-Regulated Chemokine in Hodgkin Lymphoma patients
Wednesday, January 31, 2018 - 06:59
By Erin Christey, Simple Plex Product Manager
Optimizing therapies for patients with Hodgkin lymphoma relies upon the identification of prognostic factors that will predict outcomes and guide treatment approaches. A cross-departmental group at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center recently published their findings on how baseline metabolic tumor volume is a predictive factor for patients with relapsed/refractory Hodgkin lymphoma.
Following standards set by the Clinical Laboratory Improvement...
Understanding Immunosuppressive Myeloid Cells and Immunotherapy Using Proteome Profiler™ Antibody Arrays
Monday, January 29, 2018 - 09:47
Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common noncutaneous malignancy in men in the US. A significant fraction of advanced PCa treated with androgen deprivation therapy experience relentless progression to lethal metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). The PCa tumor microenvironment is comprised of a complex mixture of epithelial and stroma cell types engaged in multifaceted heterotypic interactions functioning to maintain tumor growth and immune evasion. We recently uncovered the important role played by myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) to mediate tumor immune evasion in aggressive PCa. Although, Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) has elicited durable therapeutic responses across a number of cancer types, its...
Cultrex® BME Coating for Adult Stem Cell Expansion and Differentiation
Sunday, January 28, 2018 - 09:26
This protocol video demonstrates how to surface-coat cell culture plates and transwell inserts with Cultrex® Basement Membrane Extract, also called Cultrex® BME. Cultrex® BME is an extracellular matrix scaffold commonly used in stem cell culture and 3-dimensional (3-D) cell culture protocols, such as organoids.
In this protocol you will learn:
- Surface-coating protocol for Cultrex® BME
- Optimal dilutions of Cultrex® BME for expansion and differentiation
- General tips for working with Cultrex® BME
Related Resources:
Learn More about Cultrex® Basement Membrane Extracts
View our Organoid and 3-D...
Advanced Immunolabeling Reagents and Tools Now Available from Bio-Techne
Wednesday, January 24, 2018 - 10:29
Bio-Techne Partners with Vector Laboratories To Provide Better Kits and Reagents for Immunostaining
Bio-Techne has announced a new offering of reagents and kits from Vector Laboratories, a leader in labeling and detection solutions. Beginning in October 2017, Bio-Techne began to distribute Vector Laboratories products to complement the over 40,000 primary antibodies from Novus Biologicals® validated for immunocytochemistry and immunohistochemistry.
Vector...
Bio-Techne Go Everywhere Travel Grant - December 2017 Recipient Selected!
Friday, January 12, 2018 - 09:15
December 2017 Go Everywhere with Bio-Techne Travel Grant Awarded to a PhD Research Associate from the University of Texas at El Paso!
Bio-Techne launched its Go Everywhere Travel Grant Program which awards $1000 USD (or equivalent) to one researcher each month to attend the meeting of their choice. This grant program allows the researcher to attend more targeted meetings in their field and provides funding to support both small and large scientific associations that promote discovery and collaboration.
The recipient of the December 2017 grant is Jitian Li, a PhD Research Associate in the Department of Biological Science at the University of Texas at El Paso!
...High Profile Papers Identify GFRAL as a GDF-15 Receptor and Novel Target for Obesity and Anorexia/Cachexia
Wednesday, January 10, 2018 - 10:16
Growth Differentiation Factor 15 (GDF-15) has long been recognized as a circulating biomarker for a range of human disorders, and elevated levels have been associated with suppression of appetite. The receptor for this affect was recently revealed in several publications to be GDNF receptor-alpha-like (GFRAL), a distant member of the GDNF R family of proteins (1-4). The full receptor complex is composed of both Ret tyrosine kinase and GFRAL dimers. This newly discovered role for GFRAL places it in a position to act as a drug target for appetite regulation and obesity. This is an exciting finding given the great impact obesity-related disorders have on...
Stem Cells in the News - January 2018
Wednesday, January 3, 2018 - 09:58
We have captured this month's most interesting, innovative, and maybe some of the strangest examples of stem cells in the news from around the world.
AAAS
A Japanese research group form Kumamoto University’s Institute of Molecular Embryology and Genetics (IMG) have developed a method to recreate higher order kidney structures involving...