SwitchGear Genomics assay-ready 3’UTR constructs establish validity in studies that identify critical functions of microRNAs
Complete panel of 3’UTR reporter assays empowers researchers to quickly and quantitatively measure miRNA impact
MENLO PARK, Calif. – June 5, 2009 – SwitchGear Genomics Inc., a leading provider of products for studying the regulatory elements in the human genome, today announced the application of its UTR Reporter Collection™ product line in uncovering critical miRNA functions in several recent research studies.
A joint team from SwitchGear Genomics and Thermo Fisher Scientific recently published the results of a study that demonstrate key miRNA activity in mesenchymal stem cell differentiation. The study also illustrated the benefits of employing a functional profiling strategy for comprehending complex miRNA pathways.
The findings are published in the article “Functional Profiling Reveals Critical Role for miRNA in Differentiation of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells” at http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0005605.
“Current available methods focus on measuring only the levels of miRNAs within a cell type but do not identify the actual roles or targets of these miRNAs,” stated Devin Leake, Director of Research and Development for Thermo Fisher Scientific’s genomics business, which includes the Thermo Scientific Dharmacon line of microRNA products. “We conducted functional analysis of miRNAs and revealed those miRNAs that act as regulators in early hMSC differentiation.”
The team used the SwitchGear Genomics transfection-ready and sequence-verified reporter constructs to quantitatively measure the effects of miRNA mimics of interest on endogenous 3’UTRs.
“Our genome-wide collection of assay-ready 3’UTR constructs enable researchers to quickly measure miRNA function,” said Nathan Trinklein, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of SwitchGear Genomics, “Researchers can focus on quantifying miRNA activity on transcript regulation and translational efficiency to gain insight into the actual functions of these miRNAs without having to spend time on cloning.”
In another recent article in Cancer Research, “Coordinated regulation of cell cycle transcripts by p53-inducible microRNAs, miR-192 and miR-215,” researchers describe the function of key regulatory cell cycle miRNAs. The SwitchGear reporter constructs provided the key insight that these miRNAs function as tumor suppressors and that multiple miRNA families operate in the p53 network.
Researchers at SwitchGear Genomics further conducted a study on the role of miR-122, an important regulator of cholesterol and fatty-acid metabolism in liver that has been suggested as a therapeutic target for metabolic disease. The study revealed the target UTRs that specifically responded to miR-122 in addition to the genes that it translationally repressed. The complete findings are available at http://switchgeargenomics.com/products/utr-reporter-collection/.
About SwitchGear Genomics, Inc.:
SwitchGear Genomics Inc. is a leading provider of products for studying the regulatory elements in the human genome. The company offers transfection-ready, genome-wide collections of promoter and UTR reporter constructs, empowering researchers to quantitatively measure transcriptional regulation and translational efficiency. SwitchGear was founded in March 2005 by Dr. Richard Myers, Dr. Nathan Trinklein and Dr. Shelley Force Aldred from Stanford University. For more information about SwitchGear, please visit the company’s website at www.switchgeargenomics.com
Contact:
SwitchGear Genomics, Inc.
Brian McKelligon, 650-323-6570
Vice President, Sales and Marketing
brianm@switchgeargenomics.com