Amsbio, Abingdon, UK, is launching a new range of human iPSC-derived cells and human iPSC differentiation reagent kits optimized for high-throughput experiments in areas including drug discovery and toxicity screening.

These new products are based upon a novel technology platform that relies on key transcription factor (TF) genes, a combination of which determines the identity of cells. These TFs are so powerful that they can rapidly and efficiently differentiate human iPS cells into specific cell types, such as neurons and skeletal muscle cells. These transcription factors are introduced into cells in a form that does not leave any footprint on the genome.

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are a powerful tool for studying neuronal activity in vitro. Human iPS cells overcome many of the limitations of other popular models, such as immortalized cell lines and primary mouse neurons, which can be plagued by reproducibility issues and lack of biological relevance. Although human iPS cells have many advantages over existing models, one drawback is that differentiation into the desired cell type is a time- and labor-intensive process. To address this research bottleneck, Amsbio is launching a variety of products and services to make research more efficient. This proprietary technology allows for rapid, reproducible differentiation of human iPSC-derived excitatory, GABAergic, dopaminergic, and cholinergic neurons without sacrificing purity. 

The new range also includes a kit to facilitate rapid and efficient differentiation of human iPS or ES cells into skeletal muscle cells in just 7 days. The kit uses a proprietary transcription factor-based stem cell differentiation method to produce a highly pure population of skeletal muscle cells without a genetic footprint. Differentiated cell cultures display typical skeletal muscle morphology and markers, such as myosin heavy chain.

To provide differentiated stem cells on fast turnaround, Amsbio is also launching a Stem Cell Differentiation Service to supply highly pure populations without a genetic footprint. Services will begin with a free consultation with one of the company’s experts so that they can tailor services to fit the needs of each project.

For further information, visit Amsbio.

Featured image: Skeletal muscle differentiation using transcription factor delivered as RNA (Courtesy: Amsbio)