bit.bio Launches ioAstrocytes, Advancing How Scientists Can Model the Human Brain
June 20 2024 - 2:00AM
Business Wire
For the first time, scientists can now leverage
the reproducibility of ioCells to study how the four major CNS cell
types interact and contribute to neurological diseases. This
enables more precise research and opens new doors for developing
effective treatments.
- Human astrocytes are key to developing effective in-vitro
models of the central nervous system (CNS), enabling the study and
testing of new treatments for neurological and neurodegenerative
diseases.
- ioAstrocytes, the newest addition to bit.bio’s ioCells CNS
toolkit, are highly characterized and functional, offering
consistent results and addressing the variability issues associated
with primary astrocytes.
- Designed for ease of use with open-source media and
protocols, ioAstrocytes can be co-cultured with other brain cells,
including bit.bio’s ioCells range, allowing researchers to model
brain complexity and gain valuable insights into disease mechanisms
and treatments.
bit.bio, the company coding human cells for novel cures and a
pioneer in the field of synthetic biology, today announces the
launch of ioAstrocytes. This new addition to bit.bio’s ioCells
portfolio creates an unparalleled toolkit for disease research that
addresses the challenges of data reproducibility and enables
accelerated therapeutic development.
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bit.bio launches ioAstrocytes, advancing
how scientists can model the human brain (Photo: Business Wire)
ioCells, iPSC-derived cells for research and drug discovery, are
manufactured using bit.bio's deterministic programming technology,
opti-ox, and are considered best in class for their functionality,
consistency, and scalability. With 18 launches to date in 2024,
bit.bio’s ioCells portfolio comprises 37 products, including ioWild
Type Cells, ioDisease Model Cells and ioCRISPR-Ready Cells.
Astrocytes are a type of glial cell in the brain involved in a
wide range of processes, including neural signalling, homeostasis
maintenance, and immune response regulation. The significance of
astrocytes for effectively modelling the human brain is frequently
underestimated. Growing evidence highlights the important role of
astrocytes in CNS conditions, such as multiple sclerosis,
Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, pain disorders,
and neuropsychiatric conditions. With the introduction of
ioAstrocytes, scientists now have access to defined, consistent,
and functional human astrocytes optimised for co-culture with other
CNS cell types.
"We are excited to expand the universe of ioCells with
ioAstrocytes and offer researchers worldwide access to the major
cell types of the human brain,” said Mark Kotter, Founder and CEO
of bit.bio. "Much like building blocks, scientists can combine
different CNS cell types with or without disease-specific mutations
to explore their interactions. We look forward to seeing how the
neuroscience community will leverage this powerful toolkit to
further our understanding of the CNS and develop much needed
therapies for neurological conditions.”
ioAstrocytes are highly defined, consistent, and functional
human astrocytes, optimised for co-culture with other CNS cell
types. They display stellate morphology, express key markers, and
perform essential astrocyte functions such as phagocytosis,
secretion of cytokines, and modulation of neuronal activity when
co-cultured with CNS cells.
“ioAstrocytes represent a significant addition to bit.bio's
growing ioCells portfolio, enabling researchers to enhance in-vitro
CNS models and accelerate discoveries,” said Farah Patell-Socha,
Vice President of Research Products at bit.bio. "By providing
highly consistent cells with essential functional properties of
human astrocytes, we’re unlocking novel ways for advancing
neuroinflammation research, conducting in-depth neural network
studies, and performing screening and toxicity assessments for
potential therapeutics."
For more information or to purchase bit.bio’s ioAstrocytes,
please visit the Product page.
About bit.bio
bit.bio, a synthetic biology company, is democratising human
cells to advance biomedical research (SDG9) and enable
transformative treatments (SDG3). With Nobel Prize-winning science
underpinning our understanding of cell identity as defined by
unique combinations of transcription factors, our deterministic
cell programming technology, opti-ox, enables conversion of induced
pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) into any desired human cell type in
a single step. This is achieved within days and at industrial
scale, while maintaining exceptional purity and consistency. We are
creating highly differentiated human cell products for research and
drug discovery (ioCells) and cell therapy (txCells). Our growing
commercial ioCells portfolio comprises ioWild Type Cells, ioDisease
Model Cells and ioCRISPR-Ready Cells. Our cell therapy pipeline is
currently focused on metabolism and endocrinology, immunology and
neurology therapeutic areas. Our lead candidate, bbHEP01
(encapsulated allogeneic txHepatocytes), is in development for
acute liver diseases. Additionally, we are collaborating with
BlueRock Therapeutics (a wholly owned independently operated
subsidiary of Bayer AG) on regulatory T cell (Treg)-based cell
therapies.
Since spinning out from the University of Cambridge and
launching in 2016, we have raised approximately $200m from leading
investors, including Arch Venture, Blueyard Capital, Charles River
Laboratories, Foresite Capital, Milky Way, National Resilience, and
Tencent.
For more information, please visit: www.bit.bio
For information on bit.bio’s trademarks, visit
www.bit.bio/trademarks LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bitbioltd/
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