BioSeek Demonstrates Use of its BioMAP(TM) Technology to Rapidly Determine Functions of Genes in Complex Biological Systems
Thursday February 12, 8:06 am ET
- Results Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences -
BURLINGAME, Calif., Feb. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- BioSeek, Inc. today announced publication in the peer-reviewed journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, of a study using the company's BioMAP(TM) technology to define and characterize signaling networks in human primary cells. BioSeek is applying the BioMAP technology to characterize compounds in inflammation-related drug discovery and development, and researchers in this study demonstrated that it is also a powerful approach for revealing functional relationships of proteins within signaling pathways and interactions between different pathways.
The paper, "Method for analyzing signaling networks in complex cellular systems," appears in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, February 3, 2004 (Vol. 101, no. 5, Pages 1223-1228). Its authors include Ivan Plavec, Ph.D., BioSeek's senior director of technology development, and BioSeek co-founders Ellen Berg, Ph.D. and Eugene Butcher, M.D. The paper was communicated to the journal by Leroy Hood, M.D., Ph.D., co-founder and president of the Institute for Systems Biology.
To date, scientists attempting to assign function to human genes have faced great difficulties in interpreting large volumes of genomic and proteomic data, a key step in harnessing that data to create new pharmaceuticals. BioSeek's Biologically Multiplexed Activity Profiling (BioMAP) technology helps overcome these challenges by integrating and simplifying systems biology. This approach is based on the realization that the physiologic function of a gene is best defined by its effects within multiple cell contexts.
The researchers at BioSeek found that, by overexpressing test genes in vascular endothelial cells cultured under several different conditions (in which different inflammatory pathways were activated), they could capture a remarkable range of functions with a relatively small number of protein measurements. Comparison of BioMAPs enabled a rapid reconstruction of key pathway relationships of gene products, correctly identifying genes involved in several known inflammatory signaling pathways.
In the published study, the BioSeek team was able to detect novel functional interrelationships between different signaling pathways, as well as revealing additional effects of known genes and identifying additional mediators of pathway interactions. For example, the researchers revealed a dual function for the Interleukin-1 receptor-associated gene MYD88 in simultaneously activating the NFKappaB pathway and triggering a negative feedback inhibition of NFKappaB mediated through the RAS/MAPK pathway.
"By providing key insights into functional relationships of genes and of drug targets, BioMAP technology can rapidly model the signaling networks operating in human cells," commented Eugene Butcher, M.D., Professor of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine and a co-founder of BioSeek. "The technology is accelerating the systematic functional mapping of signaling pathways in diverse human cells and disease relevant cell systems, providing a dramatically improved biological basis for defining drug targets and prioritizing drug candidates in discovery programs."
About BioSeek
BioSeek is transforming and accelerating the drug discovery and development process by applying its proprietary high-throughput human disease systems to identify and characterize new pharmaceutical candidates for treating inflammatory and cardiovascular diseases. The Company's core technology addresses the central challenge of post-genomic drug discovery: the need to effectively integrate biology and biological function analyses into the drug development process. Additional information is available at www.bioseekinc.com
CONTACTS:
BioSeek, Inc. Euro RSCG Life NRP
Peter Staple Jeannine Medeiros
Chief Executive Officer (415) 901-3709
(650) 552-0728 jeannine.medeiros@eurorscg.com |
