Publication In PNAS Utilizes Invitrogen’s ProtoArray(R) Technology to Discover Novel Candidate Ovarian Cancer Biomarkers
Invitrogen Corporation (NASDAQ:IVGN), a provider of essential life science technologies for research, production and diagnostics, today announced the publication of a study in the journal of Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) that applies the company’s ProtoArray® technology to identify new autoantigens associated with ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths among women and is very difficult to detect before it spreads to adjacent tissues and organs.
“Invitrogen is at the forefront of companies powering advances that promise to change healthcare,” noted Kip Miller, Senior Vice President, Biodiscovery of Invitrogen. “A clear need exists to find biological markers that indicate the presence of ovarian cancer, and we are especially pleased to be involved in this groundbreaking science. Such research may serve as the foundation for developing a reliable diagnostic for identifying ovarian cancer before it starts to spread.”
In the experiments documented in the PNAS paper, sera samples from 30 ovarian cancer patients and 30 healthy subjects were profiled on the ProtoArray® protein microarrays. From this data, scientists identified over 94 candidate biomarkers that exhibited enhanced reactivity in sera from cancer patients compared to the sera of healthy subjects. Subsequent experiments on a subset of those proteins designed to validate the results achieved with the ProtoArray® showed an increase in expression of those proteins in tissue samples of ovarian cancer patients compared to healthy subjects. The results of this study were published in an article entitled “Identification of differentially expressed proteins in ovarian cancer using high-density protein microarrays” (Michael Hudson et. al.; PNAS; October, 2007).
“Not only are autoantibodies well-known biomarkers in autoimmune diseases such as lupus or multiple sclerosis, but they have been shown in a range of cancers,” said Paul Predki, Invitrogen Vice President of Protein Analysis R&D. “Protein microarrays provide a rapid and sensitive platform for the screening of autoantibodies. This study validates the ProtoArray® as a powerful technology that scientists can use to discover new markers that indicate whether a patient has a disease or shows how a disease may have progressed.”
The ProtoArray® protein microarray utilizes high density placement of proteins on a glass slide, allowing the study of over 8,000 unique human proteins on the array in a single experiment. In addition to biomarker discovery, the ProtoArray® technology enables a broad range of applications, including kinase substrate identification, protein-protein interaction mapping, antibody specificity profiling, and small molecule specificity testing.
About Invitrogen
Invitrogen Corporation (NASDAQ:IVGN) provides products and services that support academic and government research institutions and pharmaceutical and biotech companies worldwide in their efforts to improve the human condition. The company provides essential life science technologies for disease research, drug discovery, and commercial bioproduction. Invitrogen’s own research and development efforts are focused on breakthrough innovation in all major areas of biological discovery including functional genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics and cell biology — placing Invitrogen’s products in nearly every major laboratory in the world. Founded in 1987, Invitrogen is headquartered in Carlsbad, California, and conducts business in more than 70 countries around the world. The company is celebrating 20 years of accelerating scientific discovery. Invitrogen globally employs approximately 4,300 scientists and other professionals and had revenues of more than $1.15 billion in 2006. For more information, visit www.invitrogen.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
Certain statements contained in this press release are considered “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and it is Invitrogen’s intent that such statements be protected by the safe harbor created thereby. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: 1) The ProtoArray® is a powerful technology that scientists can use to discover new markers that indicate whether a patient has a disease or shows how a disease may have progressed. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: a) The ProtoArray® may or may not help develop a reliable diagnostic for identifying ovarian cancer, as well as other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in Invitrogen’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings.