Category Archives: Transhuman News

Public release date: 6-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Winnie Lim limcp2@gis.a-star.edu.sg 656-808-8013 Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore

Scientists at A*STAR's Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) have developed a novel technique to precisely monitor and study the evolution of micro-organisms such as viruses and bacteria. This is an extremely important capability as it allows scientists to investigate if new drugs designed to kill them are working, and catch the development of resistance early on.

Micro-organisms and cancer cells evolve more quickly than normal human cells as their rapid life-cycles enable faster selection of advantageous mutations. Previously, scientists have had to wait for the selection process to reach maturity before they can observe mutations and assess their impact.

In this new work, led by GIS Principal Investigators Dr Niranjan Nagarajan and Dr Martin Hibberd, the sensitivity of detecting mutations has been significantly increased, thus making it possible to "catch evolution in real time". Being able to do this means that scientists can now observe the process of mutation as it happens, and catch how the organism or cancer cell develops resistance to drugs used.

The novel method, known as LoFreq, was achieved by combining deep sequencing of DNA with computational analysis to detect mutations at extremely "LOw FREQuency" in as few as one in 1000 cells. This approach is currently being used at the GIS to study the dengue virus, characterizing subtle shifts in the viral genome in response to new antiviral drugs.

Dr Niranjan said, "LoFreq has really allowed us to look at viral genome evolution in fine detail and we hope to use it construct better models for transmission of the dengue virus. We can also now identify key functional regions in viral genomes by highlighting spots that never mutate or mutate rapidly. In ongoing work, we are developing extensions to LoFreq that can better characterize mutations in Cancer."

Executive Director of GIS, Prof Ng Huck Hui said, "This innovation in the computational space highlights GIS's effort in developing unique capabilities in analyzing increasingly complex next-generation sequencing datasets. We expect that LoFreq will have wide utility in the analysis of viral, bacterial and cancer genome data."

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Scientists at A*STAR's Genome Institute of Singapore catch evolving germs and cancer cells early

The Cancer Genome Atlas is set to finish up next year after sequencing some 10,000 samples from about 20 different cancer types. TCGA has found, ScienceInsider notes, a number of new cancer genes and confirmed others that were previously identified. But with its price tag reaching over $375 million, some critics say it has been too expensive, though many disagree.

At a National Cancer Institute meeting earlier this week, Louis Staudt and Stephen Chanock discussed what could be a next step by sequencing even more samples, say 10,000 per tumor type, researchers could uncover rare variants contributing to the disease, ScienceInsider adds. Further, it could enable studies examining the interplay of genetics and environmental factors.

However, with the agency facing a 5 percent budget cut, such a grand project might not be realized. ScienceInsider also notes that some skeptics said that the project might reach a level of "diminishing returns." According to ScienceInsider Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory's Bruce Stillman noted that he is a supporter of TCGA, but that taking it to such a new scale "is not very sensible at the moment."

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After the Cancer Genome Atlas

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Regulatory News:

Cellectis bioresearch, a subsidiary of Cellectis Group (ALCLS.PA), the genome engineering specialist, announced today a collaboration agreement with Stemgent, Inc. to provide research services that combines mRNA reprogramming technology and genome engineering.

The partnership marries Cellectis bioresearchs leadership in genome engineering with Stemgents expertise in cellular reprogramming. Stemgents proprietary mRNA reprogramming technology addresses the challenges around deriving non-viral, non-integrating, clinically-relevant induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells for use in regenerative medicine, drug discovery, and basic research. Traditional reprogramming methods can lead to the integration of unwanted genetic material into the host genome and therefore can be disruptive to the reprogrammed cells function.

Targeted genome engineering is a powerful technology that can be used to elucidate the genetic basis of diseases and to evaluate drug candidates through the generation of cell-based assays. Cellectis bioresearchs TALEN-based genome engineering technology enables the directed introduction of disease-specific genetic mutations to mimic disease and of reporter genes with fluorescent/luminescent tags to evaluate drug candidate efficacy, specificity and toxicity. Together these two powerful technologies pave the way for clinically-relevant applications in regenerative medicine.

Cellectis Group CEO Andr Choulika said, The collaboration between Stemgent and Cellectis fits with our mission to enable scientists worldwide with the tools to generate genome-engineered iPS cells for use in their research and regenerative medicine.

Drug toxicity testing is an important part of early-stage drug development, continued Ian Ratcliffe, Stemgent President and CEO. The challenge researchers face is that current models to test drugs are often inadequate. With this partnership and the combined technologies, we can introduce mutations into reprogrammed cells and differentiate them into downstream lineages. Researchers can utilize these cells to test how mutations, known and unknown, alter the biology of the cells upon exposure to drugs.

About Cellectis

Founded in France in 1999, the Cellectis Group is based on a highly specific DNA engineering technology. Its application sectors are human health, agriculture and bio-energies. Co-created by Andr Choulika, its Chief Executive Officer, Cellectis is today one of the world leading companies in the field of genome engineering. Cellectis is also focused on pluripotent stem cells and technology for drug discovery research, toxicity testing and regenerative medicine. Cellectis leverages a deep experience in stem cell handling, scale-up and differentiation into mature and functional human cells. The Group has a workforce of 230 employees working on 5 sites worldwide: Paris & Evry in France, Gothenburg in Sweden, St Paul (Minnesota) & Cambridge (Massachusetts) in the United States. Cellectis achieved in 2011 16M revenues and has signed more than 80 industrial agreements with pharmaceutical laboratories, agrochemical and biotechnology companies since its inception. AFM, Dupont, BASF, Bayer, Total, Limagrain, Novo Nordisk are some of the Groups clients and partners. Since 2007, Cellectis has been listed on NYSE-Euronext Alternext market (ALCLS.PA) in Paris.

For more information, visit our website: http://www.cellectis.com.

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Cellectis and Stemgent Partner to Provide Custom Genome -engineered iPS Cells

BALTIMORE, March 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --Personal Genome Diagnostics Inc. (PGDx), a pioneer in conducting patient-specific analyses aimed at identifying genomic alterations in tumors, today announced a number of developments that will support its expanding business. The company licensed exclusive rights to Digital Karyotyping (DK), an important genome-mapping technology developed by the company's founders at Johns Hopkins University. PGDx also announced that it is expanding into new facilities and has made a number of key hires, including Genzyme Oncology executive Antony Newton as Chief Commercial Officer.

PGDx's co-founders include Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Victor Velculescu and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Luis Diaz, international leaders in cancer genetics and faculty members at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, who were the first to perform genome-wide sequence analyses of human cancer. They and colleagues at Johns Hopkins, including Dr. Bert Vogelstein, a recent recipient of the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences for his work in colon cancer, established the company in response to requests from cancer researchers and clinicians for commercial access to their specialized genome-mapping services and analyses. PGDx has licensed rights from Johns Hopkins to proprietary methods based on next-generation sequencing, patented approaches to genetic analysis and proprietary data algorithms, and its scientists have deep expertise in the practical application of these technologies to the study of cancer genomics.

"At PGDx, we are fortunate to be able to bring the latest advances in cancer genomics such as Digital Karyotyping to cancer researchers and clinicians around the globe," said Antony Newton. "This is an exciting time for cancer genomics, and we expect to be announcing a number of collaborations and partnerships in the coming months as we bring our advanced capabilities to the many researchers and drug developers who are rapidly advancing the field."

Newton added, "We also are using our CLIA-certified laboratory and our years of genomic know-how to provide information on tumor-specific mutations to cancer patients and their physicians. As the utility of cancer genomics evolves, we are considering a number of options for expanding our ability to serve the growing demand for patient-specific analyses that can help inform treatment decisions."

As part of its services, PGDx employs cancer exome analysis, an approach the company pioneered, to capture and selectively analyze the coding regions of the genome, enabling the comprehensive and reliable genome-wide identification of cancer-related mutations in all of the approximately 20,000 relevant genes. PGDx also provides in-depth computational analyses based on its proprietary methodologies to differentiate between unimportant and cancer-associated mutations.

The patented DK technology enables quantitative analysis of DNA copy number at high resolution with exceptional sensitivity. This method can identify large chromosomal changes in human cancer cells, along with amplifications and deletions, including those in regions not previously known to have been altered. DK has enabled a number of landmark discoveries in human cancer, such as identification of gene amplification of the therapeutically targetable OTX2 gene in medulloblastoma, detection of thymidylate synthase amplification as a mechanism of chemotherapy resistance in colorectal cancer and comprehensive copy number analyses in large-scale cancer genome analyses. The method can also be applied to other conditions, including analyses of chromosomal abnormalities in hereditary disorders. Digital Karotyping complements other technologies licensed from Hopkins, including the CHASM computational method for identifying cancer-related mutations, which are being applied to both research and diagnostic applications.

Under the terms of its agreement with Johns Hopkins, PGDx has the right to sub-license the DK technology to third parties.

Mr. Newton was recently recruited to PGDx after a 19-year career at Genzyme Corporation, where he held a number of roles in marketing, commercial development and drug development. He was most recently Vice President in the Oncology Division.

PGDx, which was originally located in the Johns Hopkins Science and Technology Park, has moved into larger laboratory and office facilities along the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore.

For more information on PGDx, visit: http://www.personalgenome.com/.

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Personal Genome Diagnostics Inc. Licenses Genome -Mapping Technology from Johns Hopkins University and Expands Its ...