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Jan
16
2019

Hepatitis B Virus: Looking for a Cure

By Scott Heyward, MS
Despite effective vaccine and treatment options, the Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) remains a worldwide health concern. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates there are 257 million infected individuals1. Chronic infection with the virus can lead to several potential complications including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. There has been a renewed push to find a curative treatment modality to aid chronically infected individuals and mitigate long term health issues.
Dec
06
2018

What is HLA Typing And Why You Should Have Your Cells Genotyped?

By Alex Rosenberg
The human body uses Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) markers to identify which cells do and do not belong in your body via the recognition of antigens. Antigens are molecules capable of inducing an immune response, although not all do this. Antigens that belong in the body are recognized as ‘self’ and antigens that are not ‘self’ are recognized as ‘foreign’. As part of the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC), HLA proteins play an essential part in this process, making sure that cells and molecules that belong in your body are unharmed while those recognized as foreign, such as viruses, pathogens, and bacteria, are destroyed and removed
Nov
20
2018

Quintuple Model Elucidates Complex Transporter-Mediated Creatinine Renal Elimination

By Steven Louie
Transporters are membrane-bound proteins that facilitate the uptake or excretion of a wide range of compounds from nutrients, such as vitamins, to xenobiotic drugs like statins. Over the past decade, the regulatory agencies have identified examples of transporter-mediated drug-drug interactions (DDIs) that change drug safety and efficacy levels. In order to reduce potential DDI risks, the FDA has issued a guidance document to assist the drug development process.1 With this enhanced scrutiny of potential transporter-mediated DDIs, drug makers have also increased their research to study the potential contributions of transporters to the pharmacokinetics of their lead compounds. For example, poor brain penetration, elevated biliary or renal elimination may be indications of transporter-mediated effects limiting systemic exposure to their intended target site.
Nov
07
2018

DTCs: Straight from the Source

By Sean Crudgington
Accessing clinically relevant human samples can be a struggle for oncology researchers. The procurement of human biospecimens is strictly regulated in most clinical settings, thus preventing researchers from obtaining specific samples of interest. BioIVT’s expansive network of over 200 IRB approved collection sites facilitates the collection of a wide range of tissue and tumor types that our clients can access.
Sep
24
2018

The Rise in Respiratory Research: Increases in Disease and Illness Worldwide

By Alex Rosenberg
The investment in research and development activities focused on respiratory disease coincides with the rapidly increasing incidence of respiratory disease deaths. It is crucial that researchers have access to representative models for respiratory diseases that utilize ethically collected, well-characterized human specimens and comprehensive tissue-based research services.
Sep
13
2018

Key Points in Custom Fresh Tissue Collection

By Lisa Stocker, MBA
As a model for living tissue in the human body, fresh human tissue is our best solution. For oncology researchers, fresh tissue provides a platform for early-stage immunotherapy development. In addition, individual tumor cells (either primary or dissociated) provide the ability to characterize the tumors and explore important cellular and molecular pathways.
Sep
04
2018

Hepatopac Model: The Truth Revealed

By Onyi Irrechukwu, Ph.D.
The HEPATOPAC® model is a bioengineered, in vitro co-culture of primary hepatocytes and 3T3 murine fibroblasts. The cultures are arranged into a precise cyto-architecture that optimizes liver-specific functions and extends hepatocyte viability for several weeks, mimicking the in vivo liver. HEPATOPAC cultures secrete albumin, synthesize urea, display functional bile canaliculi, and metabolize compounds using active Phase I and Phase II enzymes at higher levels than other in vitro liver models.
Aug
22
2018

The Microbiome: Collection Matters

By Cathie Miller, Ph.D.
Why Study the Microbiome? The Microbiome has a growing importance in general health, and even more significantly, there is a growing understanding regarding the impact that an individual’s microbiome has on contributing to the cause of disease, influencing disease severity, and affecting a person’s response to medication and treatment. For example, it is now known that an individual’s microbiome affects their ability to manage their weight, is implicated in the development of arthritis, and has a role in various neuropsychiatric illnesses such as autism, schizophrenia, OCD, ADHD, and chronic fatigue syndrome. Furthermore, by comparing patients with the same disease, it has been shown that an individual’s microbiome affects the disease severity of autoimmune disorders, asthma, and infections. Perhaps even more interesting and more relevant is that an individual’s microbiome affects their response to medication including vaccination, through effects on metabolism, efficacy, and toxicity.
Aug
14
2018

How Tissue Fixation Affects Your Downstream Analysis

By Cathie Miller, Ph.D.
Biospecimens are commonly used in research, from the bench through to late phase clinical trials. Understanding how pre-analytical deviations in collection, processing, and storage are critical to downstream applications and data analysis. In this post, our Director of Product Marketing for Disease State Products, Cathie Miller, Ph.D., interviewed Jason Adams, BS HTL (ASCP), BioIVT’s lead histologist to better understand how processing occurs and how it can affect the specimens.
Jul
26
2018

North American ISSX Meeting Wrap Up

By Lauren Vagnone
The 22nd North American ISSX meeting was held this year in Montreal where scientists joined together to discuss issues in drug development. Hot topics included transporters, pharmacogenomics, and antibody drug conjugates (ADCs). The transporter session included lectures on kidney and hepatic transporters and potential association with drug-induced liver injury (DILI).

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