Promega - TOP srl Agreement Enables Live Animal Imaging for Cancer Studies

Promega and TOP srl have combined their industry leading technologies to provide the most sensitive tools for monitoring apoptosis in live mammals, an important biomarker in cancer studies. Under the agreement, the two companies are promoting the VivoGlo™ Caspase 3/7 Substrate for use with transgenic repTOP™ reporter mice. The tools allow the direct visualization and quantification of apoptosis non-invasively in live mice.

The study of apoptosis has generated much insight into the mechanisms of action of cancer over the past 20 years but nearly all studies to date have been performed in cells in culture and not in a more biologically relevant animal model such as mice.

TOP srl has developed a proprietary technology enabling the construction of transgenic animals in which the expression of imaging biomarkers is ubiquitous, tightly regulated, and constant among individual animals. Under the agreement, the transgenic repTOP reporter mice will contain an improved luciferase luc2 gene from Promega. It is now possible to study apoptotic processes in the whole live animal with these reporter mice with the same sensitivity and ease as in cell culture models, exploring physiology and pharmacological effects both spatially in different tissues and temporally. "We are pleased to be collaborating with Promega on the use of our transgenic mice with the VivoGlo Caspase 3/7 Substrate for studying apoptosis in vivo. The synergy of the two technologies is going to dramatically improve preclinical research for instance in oncology" said Paolo Ciana, PhD, Vice-President at TOP srl.