Blogs for January 2018

By Erin Christey, Simple Plex Product Manager

Optimizing therapies for patients with Hodgkin lymphoma relies upon the identification of prognostic factors that will predict outcomes and guide treatment approaches. A cross-departmental group at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center recently published their findings on how baseline metabolic tumor volume is a predictive factor for patients with relapsed/refractory Hodgkin lymphoma.

Following standards set by the Clinical Laboratory Improvement...

This protocol video demonstrates how to surface-coat cell culture plates and transwell inserts with Cultrex^® Basement Membrane Extract, also called Cultrex^® BME. Cultrex^® BME is an extracellular matrix scaffold commonly used in stem cell culture and 3-dimensional (3-D) cell culture protocols, such as organoids and MimEX™ Tissue Model Systems. Using Cultrex^® BME, MimEX^™ Tissue Models System provides a platform for the isolation, expansion, and differentiation of adult epithelial stem cells into 3-D ex vivo organ tissue.

In this protocol you will learn:

• Surface-coating protocol for Cultrex^® BME
• Optimal dilutions of Cultrex^® BME for expansion and differentiation
• General tips for working with Cultrex^® BME
...

MimEX^™ Tissue Models System provides a platform for the isolation, expansion, and differentiation of adult epithelial stem cells into 3-D ex vivo organ tissue. This protocol video describes how to thaw and expand adult epithelial stem cells in the MimEX^™ System. It can be performed starting with either a MimEX^™ Stem Cell Line or from cell stocks cryopreserved from epithelial organ biopsy tissue.

In this protocol you will learn:

• Optimizing irradiated fibroblasts before plating stem cells
• General protocol for thawing and plating adult stem cells
• How to perform the MimEX^™ Cell Plating Procedure

Related Resources:
Learn More about MimEX^™ Tissue Model Systems
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Growth Differentiation Factor 15 (GDF-15) has long been recognized as a circulating biomarker for a range of human disorders, and elevated levels have been associated with suppression of appetite. The receptor for this affect was recently revealed in several publications to be GDNF receptor-alpha-like (GFRAL), a distant member of the GDNF R family of proteins (1-4). The full receptor complex is composed of both Ret tyrosine kinase and GFRAL dimers. This newly discovered role for GFRAL places it in a position to act as a drug target for appetite regulation and obesity. This is an exciting finding given the great impact obesity-related disorders have on...