Press Releases INDIGO Biosciences Expands Autoimmune-Focused Preclinical Testing Portfolio

INDIGO Biosciences Expands Autoimmune-Focused Preclinical Testing Portfolio

Nuclear Factor of Activated T cells Assay Targets Preclinical Autoimmune and Oncology Research

State College, PA (16 March 2021) – INDIGO Biosciences, the recognized industry leader in nuclear receptor research, has expanded their robust testing portfolio to include a new Nuclear Factor of Activate T cells (NFAT) assay used primarily for preclinical autoimmune research. This cell-based in vitro assay provides discovery researchers with the ability to quickly make critical decisions about potential drug candidates before moving into trials. NFAT is also implicated in the development of several diseases, including inflammatory bowel diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and numerous cancers.

“The expansion of INDIGO’s autoimmune and oncology portfolio with the NFAT assay continues to offer discovery scientists the ability to make key research decisions faster,” says Dr. Jack Vanden Heuvel, Chief Scientific Officer of INDIGO. “This addition further strengthens our commitment to provide vital data in the earliest stages of discovery, and expands opportunities for researchers to get the critical interaction and activation data they need, before entering costly clinical trials.”

The five members of the NFAT transcription factor family were initially identified as key regulators of genes involved in the activation, proliferation, and death of immune cells. Further research has shown that NFAT is also involved in the development of the heart, skeletal muscle, smooth muscle, vasculature, pancreas, and skin. Altered regulation of any of these systems can lead to malignant growth and cancer.

The prominence of NFAT is not only immune cells, but in all cells and tissues, also allows NFAT-signaling immunosuppressant to be crucial treatments to prevent organ transplant rejection. With different NFAT proteins expressed in different cell types, and therefore affecting specific genes, discovery researchers are able to highly target these proteins for even more selective immune responses.

In vitro assays, such as those offered by INDIGO, provide important early indications of a compound or antibody’s potential for progressing to further development and clinical testing. INDIGO’s assays allow researchers to definitively determine what receptors are affected to ensure the selectivity of target compounds, a key piece of information necessary to proceed with development. The new NFAT reporter assay is available both as a screening service or as an all-inclusive kit.

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Learn more about INDIGO’s new NFAT assay