Agilix Study in Nature Biotechnology Validates First Universal Microarray RNA Expression Analysis System
Posted on: Tuesday, 23 March 2004, 06:00 CST
NEW HAVEN, Conn., March 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Agilix Corporation today announced publication of a study in Nature Biotechnology validating its transcriptional analysis microarray platform capable of detecting both known and novel genes from any organism. The Agilix Universal Microarray System, which the company is marketing as GenCompass(TM), is the first microarray-based "open" expression profiling system. Unlike closed gene expression methods, GenCompass can analyze samples in which the specific genetic sequences are not known, providing researchers with important new capabilities, as well as flexibility, speed and cost advantages.
In the peer-reviewed Nature Biotechnology study, gene expression profiles generated by the UMAS (GenCompass) technology showed excellent agreement with profiles produced using real-time PCR assays and with those in the literature. According to the study, the technology "represents a unique expression profiling approach that takes advantage of ... the potential of microarray technology and avoids the need for species specific probes." The study, "Expression profiling using a hexamer-based universal microarray," will be published in the April, 2004 issue of Nature Biotechnology.
"With this breakthrough technology, our GenCompass customers can conduct a wide variety of high gene coverage expression studies that were not possible until now," said Martin J. Mattessich, president and CEO of Agilix Corporation. "This gives biotech, pharmaceutical and agricultural researchers an important new tool to use when the sample's genetic sequence is not fully known, and it provides greater flexibility when the sequence is known. This feature makes GenCompass particularly valuable for drug discovery and development, where the genetic sequences of many organisms used in preclinical research are not yet widely available."
The GenCompass technology provides a universal gene expression platform that can profile all of the genes in any organism, surveying the entire transcriptome. Unlike other microarray platforms, GenCompass can re-analyze existing data as new sequence information is developed. For example, for organisms with active genome sequencing projects, the gene expression data collected today can be re-analyzed in silico without the time, cost and variation associated with additional wet lab experiments.
The study performed validation analyses on yeast and also demonstrated proof-of-concept using a hybrid organism (a mammalian T-cell receptor gene expressed in yeast). Since the study was published, Agilix has moved beyond yeast to multiple projects across a variety of organisms. Peter Glazer, M.D., Ph.D., chairman of therapeutic radiology and professor of genetics, Yale University School of Medicine, who is currently conducting research on human cells using the GenCompass system notes, "Using Agilix technology in a study of the regulation of DNA repair genes under hypoxic stress, we could detect over ten thousand genes in a massively parallel fashion. The GenCompass system provided accurate quantitative results compared to real-time PCR and was able to identify DNA repair genes not previously know to be regulated under these conditions. Hypoxic stress is especially important in the study of cancer because many solid tumors have regions of low oxygen."
GenCompass obtains hundreds of thousands of sequence tags 14 nucleotides in length, so whether an organism is fully sequenced, partially sequenced or unsequenced, its gene expression can be studied. The Agilix GenCompass technology addresses the growing need for gene prediction verification and functional characterization.
Authors of the study include Paul Lizardi, Ph.D., co-founder of Agilix and Professor in the Department of Pathology at the Yale School of Medicine.
ABOUT AGILIX
Agilix Corporation is a leading developer of functional genomics and proteomics platform technologies to aid in the discovery and analysis of genes, their protein products and related biological functions. The Company's services help reduce the risk, cost and time to market for new pharmaceutical, biotechnology and agricultural products. Agilix is headquartered in New Haven, Connecticut.
Contacts: Media:
Agilix Corporation GendeLLindheim BioCom Partners
Martin J. Mattessich Stephen Gendel
203 772-4169 212 918-4650
Agilix Corporation
CONTACT: Martin J. Mattessich of Agilix Corporation, +1-203-772-4169; orMedia, Stephen Gendel of GendeLLindheim BioCom Partners, +1-212-918-4650
Web site: http://www.biocompartners.com/
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