New Assay Cell-Based Luciferase Reporter Assay developed for GM-CSFR

State College, PA (June 27th, 2023) – Today INDIGO Biosciences announced the release of a new cell-based reporter assay for Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor Receptor (GM-CSFR or CSF2R). This new commercially available all-inclusive assay kit from INDIGO can help preclinical researchers get the data they need faster in the areas of immunity, inflammation, cancer, and autoimmune diseases.

“Given GM-CSF’s role in the body’s innate immunity, activation and inhibition of GM-CSFR have gained a lot of interest recently,” explained Jack Vanden Heuvel, PhD, INDIGO’s Chief Scientific Officer. “There is a lot of current research related to how GM-CSFR can be targeted to promote immunity against viruses such as HIV and COVID-19 as well as its role in fighting cancers.”

GM-CSF is a glycoprotein which plays an important role in the body’s innate immunity. This has led to its receptor, GM-CSFR, becoming an important therapeutic target for cancer and autoimmune disease research. GM-CSF is produced by multiple cell types such as T cells, B cells, macrophages, endothelial cells, and fibroblasts. It was originally defined as a growth factor since it induces the differentiation and proliferation of myeloid progenitors in response to stress, infections, and cancers. However, it is also commonly described as a cytokine since it is known to stimulate the activation and migration of myeloid cells to inflammation sites.

GM-CSF’s role in inflammatory response pathways also means dysregulation can result in chronic inflammatory diseases. There are multiple therapeutics in various stages of development that use monoclonal antibodies (mAb) to either bind GM-CSF directly or to target the receptor to prevent its binding to GM-CSF. Some autoimmune diseases where this approach is being targeted include multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), myasthenia gravis (MG), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

INDIGO’s Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor Receptor (GM-CSFR, CSF2R) Assays are available as all-inclusive kits in 96-well and 384-well assay formats. Bulk volumes of assay reagents are available to accommodate high throughput screening applications. INDIGO also performs these and all its receptor assays in its own lab as a convenient and economical custom service for researchers worldwide.

INDIGO’s assay kits contain all supplies needed to perform the assay, including cryopreserved reporter cells, optimized media for use in recovering the cryopreserved cells and for diluting test samples, a receptor-specific reference compound, luciferase detection reagents, and a cell culture-ready assay plate. INDIGO’s proprietary CryoMite™ cryo-preservation process allows scientists to immediately dispense healthy, division-competent reporter cells into the assay-ready plates. By providing all necessary assay reagents in one easy-to-use kit, INDIGO enables researchers to obtain high-quality data quickly. There is no need for researchers to take the time to procure individual components from multiple sources, painstakingly transfect and selectively propagate reporter cells, or optimize the assay.