Exploring the Frontiers of Science: A Year in Review with AMSBIO

Fig. Immunofluorescent staining of skin glove to show Keratin 14 expression. Figure adapted from Pappalardo, A., Alvarez Cespedes, D., Fang, S., Herschman, A. R., Jeon, E. Y., Myers, K. M., Kysar, J. W., & Abaci, H. E. (2023). Engineering edgeless human skin with enhanced biomechanical properties. Science Advances, 9(4). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.ade2514. 

An exciting collaboration led by Dr. Ashley M. Laughney from Weill Cornell Medicine and Dr. Samuel F. Bakhoum from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center delved into the intricate mechanisms through which chromosomal instability drives cancer metastasis. Their research revealed the complex interplay between chromosomal instability and the immune system, revealing the chronic activation of the cGAS–STING pathway and its role in creating a pro-metastatic tumour microenvironment. The team of researchers used CAG-Luciferase lentiviral particles from AMSBIO in mouse models of breast cancer, enabling them to monitor the metastatic progression through bioluminescence. This collaborative effort marks a significant stride toward advancing cancer therapies, offering valuable insights into potential therapeutic interventions for melanoma, breast, and colorectal cancers. 

In neuromuscular disease research, Lipidure-coated U-bottomed 96 well plates from AMSBIO played a role in the development of an iPSC-based model. The study conducted by Dr. Ivo Lieberam’s lab at King’s College London in collaboration with Professor Wenhui Song from University College London successfully established an optogenetically stimulated scalable human iPSC-based neuromuscular disease model suspended on biobased elastomer nanofiber scaffolds. Their work presents exciting opportunities for drug discovery by offering a platform to screen novel treatments for conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). 

Professor Nicholas B. La Thangue and his team at the University of Oxford harnessed the power of the Histone H3(K9) Universal Methyltransferase Assay Kit from AMSBIO in their work investigating long non-coding RNA-derived peptides. This pioneering research revealed the immunogenic nature of these peptides which drive a potent anti–tumour response. By exploring the roles of protein arginine methyltransferase and the transcription factor E2F1 in regulating the non-coding genome, the study illuminated potential targets for cancer therapeutics. The discoveries made by Professor La Thangue and his team of scientists hold the promise of paving the way for the development of cancer vaccines using antigens from the non-coding genome. This marks a thrilling advancement in the field of cancer research. 

At Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Dr. Hasan Erbil Abaci’s team utilised Hyaluronan Binding Protein from AMSBIO in their groundbreaking study on engineered wearable edgeless skin constructs (WESCs) (Figure 1). Traditional skin constructs are flat and struggle to cover intricate areas like hands after injuries, but WESCs, designed to replicate the enclosed 3D geometry of human skin, overcome this limitation. With improved biomechanical properties, these constructs have the potential to revolutionise wound care for complex body sites, presenting a significant advancement in the field. 

Professor Peter K. Sorger’s research group at Harvard Medical School has showcased the efficacy of spatial biology in discovering visual cancer biomarkers compared to traditional histology techniques. The study introduces the ‘Orion’ platform, which facilitates the collection of H&E and high-plex immunofluorescence images for cancer diagnosis. Professor Sorger’s team used FFPE tonsil and lung adenocarcinoma tissue from AMSBIO’s vast biorepository during their optimisation procedures. Using a colorectal cancer cohort, their study demonstrated that combining models of immune infiltration and tumour-intrinsic features through multimodal tissue imaging achieves significant discrimination in predicting progression-free survival. This research underscores the platform’s potential for advancing clinical research and cancer diagnosis. 

A team of scientists led by Dr. Lan Jiang at the China National Center for Bioinformation, Beijing, introduced FIPRESCI – a low-cost and ultra high-throughput 5′-end single-cell combinatorial indexing RNA-Seq method. This innovative approach significantly boosts throughput in droplet microfluidics systems by more than tenfold, allowing for extensive sample multiplexing. FIPRESCI allows for massive-scale profiling of immune receptor repertoire and has already been demonstrated to be a valuable tool for understanding subpopulation differences in T cells from cancer patients. To ensure high cell viability post-thaw, Dr. Jiang and colleagues cryopreserve isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cell samples in CELLBANKER 2 from AMSBIO. 

Dr. Tobias Deuse, Dr. Sonja Schrepfer, and their team of scientists from the University of California demonstrated the potential of synthetic immune checkpoint engagers in protecting human leukocyte antigen-deficient iPSCs and derivatives from innate immune cell cytotoxicity. Their iPSCs were cultured in StemFit Basic04 Complete medium on iMatrix-511 Silk coated plates (supplied by AMSBIO) to create an ideal environment for their maintenance and expansion. The innovative approach of Dr. Deuse and Dr. Schrepfer addresses the challenge of immune rejection in allogeneic cell therapeutics, paving the way for enhanced efficacy in immuno-oncology and regenerative medicine. 

AMSBIO are proud to provide the tools and technologies that empower researchers to explore the unknown. Here’s to another year of pushing the boundaries of science and Accelerating Your Discovery with AMSBIO! 

Li, J., Hubisz, M. J., Earlie, E. M., Duran, M. A., Hong, C., Varela, A. A., Lettera, E., Deyell, M., Tavora, B., Havel, J. J., Phyu, S. M., Amin, A. D., Budre, K., Kamiya, E., Cavallo, J.-A., Garris, C., Powell, S., Reis-Filho, J. S., Wen, H., … Bakhoum, S. F. (2023). Non-cell-autonomous cancer progression from chromosomal instability. Nature, 620(7976), 1080–1088. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06464-z 

Cheesbrough, A., Harley, P., Riccio, F., Wu, L., Song, W., &; Lieberam, I. (2023). A scalable human iPSC-based neuromuscular disease model on suspended biobased elastomer nanofiber scaffolds. Biofabrication. https://doi.org/10.1088/1758-5090/acf39e 

Barczak, W., Carr, S. M., Liu, G., Munro, S., Nicastri, A., Lee, L. N., Hutchings, C., Ternette, N., Klenerman, P., Kanapin, A., Samsonova, A., & La Thangue, N. B. (2023). Long non-coding RNA-derived peptides are immunogenic and drive a potent anti-tumour response. Nature Communications, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36826-0 

Pappalardo, A., Alvarez Cespedes, D., Fang, S., Herschman, A. R., Jeon, E. Y., Myers, K. M., Kysar, J. W., & Abaci, H. E. (2023). Engineering edgeless human skin with enhanced biomechanical properties. Science Advances, 9(4). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.ade2514   

Lin, J.-R., Chen, Y.-A., Campton, D., Cooper, J., Coy, S., Yapp, C., Tefft, J. B., McCarty, E., Ligon, K. L., Rodig, S. J., Reese, S., George, T., Santagata, S., &; Sorger, P. K. (2023). High-plex immunofluorescence imaging and traditional histology of the same tissue section for discovering image-based biomarkers. Nature Cancer 4, 1036–1052 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43018-023-00576-1  

Li, Y., Huang, Z., Zhang, Z. et al. FIPRESCI: droplet microfluidics based combinatorial indexing for massive-scale 5′-end single-cell RNA sequencing. Genome Biol 24, 70 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13059-023-02893-1   

Gravina, A., Tediashvili, G., Zheng, Y., Iwabuchi, K. A., Peyrot, S. M., Roodsari, S. Z., Gargiulo, L., Kaneko, S., Osawa, M., Schrepfer, S., &; Deuse, T. (2023). Synthetic immune checkpoint engagers protect HLA-deficient iPSCs and derivatives from innate immune cell cytotoxicity. Cell Stem Cell, 30(11), 1538-1548.e4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2023.10.003