New Activator Protein 1 (AP-1) Assay from INDIGO Biosciences

State College, PA (August 29, 2022) – INDIGO Biosciences announced today the addition of a new cell-based firefly luciferase reporter assay for the Human Activator Protein 1 (AP-1) transcription factor. The new assay augments INDIGO’s existing collection of related transcription factor assays including Human NF-kB and Nuclear Factor of Activated T Cells (NFAT).

“We’re dedicated to providing scientists with tools to help them accelerate their decision making,” said Dr. Jack Vanden Heuvel, INDIGO’s Chief Scientific Officer. “INDIGO’s new AP-1 assay is a fantastic tool that provides researchers with valuable information about whether their compounds of interest act as activators or inhibitors of AP-1. This can help them identify compounds with anti-inflammatory or anti-toxicity properties.”

Transcription factors bind to DNA and regulate the transcriptional machinery that converts DNA to RNA. Various transcription factors function as activators or inhibitors of transcription, and problems with the natural functioning of transcription factors can lead to various diseases. AP-1 is a transcription factor that responds to stress on cells. This stress affects the signaling of cellular activities regulated by AP-1 such as cell division, migration, growth, death, and differentiation. This makes AP-1 an important target for research into treatments for cancer and inflammation, as well as kidney disease, obesity, autoimmune diseases, and wound healing.

INDIGO’s AP-1 assay kits are all-inclusive, offering everything needed to perform the assay to understand a compound’s effect on AP-1. This includes AP-1 Reporter Cells, optimized media for use during cell culture and in diluting test samples, a reference AP-1 activator, Luciferase Detection Reagent, a cell culture-ready assay plate, and a detailed protocol. By including all the needed components for the assay with the reporter cells in one easy-to-use kit, INDIGO helps researchers obtain results quickly without the need to procure components from multiple sources. INDIGO kits also save time since researchers do not have to transfect and propagate cells.

To accommodate researchers’ varying needs, the AP-1 assay kit is available in both 3 x 32 and 1 x 96 formats for screening small numbers of test compounds as well as custom bulk reagents for high throughput screening applications. INDIGO can also perform this assay in its own lab as a service for researchers.