My 100th Post: Marligen Makes a Deal

It’s been a while since I’ve heard anything about Marligen, the only Biotech company in my home town of Ijamsville. And even though they are less than a mile from the Montgomery County line, they’re still a FredCoBio member. That’s like having a semi-sterile cell culture flask, I guess. Here’s the news clip, via businesswire.com:

Marligen Exclusively Licenses Genisphere Labeling Technology for the Detection of microRNAs on the xMAP® Platform

Marligen Launches Vantage™ Line for the Purification, Labeling and Detection of microRNAs

IJAMSVILLE, Md.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Marligen Biosciences, Inc., a supplier of innovative products for the life sciences research market, will become the exclusive provider of Genisphere’s biotinylated labeling kits for detection of microRNAs on the xMAP^® multiplex platform. The microRNA labeling kits using Genisphere Inc.’s 3DNA^™ dendrimer signal amplification technology will be an integral product to Marligen’s new offering supporting researchers studying microRNAs. The Vantage™ product line includes reagent kits for purifying, labeling and detecting microRNA species.

Genisphere’s unique 3DNA^™ dendrimer technology is based on highly branched DNA structures serving as scaffolds for multiple biotins. The use of Genisphere’s signal amplification technology in combination with the Vantage™ microRNA detection panels offers researchers a fast and cost-effective system to directly profile multiple microRNAs in a single sample. The complete system offers exceptional sensitivity and throughput capabilities of greater than 100 samples in a single day and is compatible with total RNA or enriched RNA including degraded RNA from archived tissues. The initial Vantage™ microRNA Detection Panels are designed for profiling the relative abundance of different microRNA species known to be relevant in oncology. The Vantage™ Products will be launched at the upcoming annual meeting of the American Association of Cancer Research.

“High throughput profiling of MicroRNAs presents a challenge when combining rapid, effective labeling with improved detection sensitivity,” said Dr. Robert Getts, Director of R&D at Genisphere. “The complete Vantage™ package, having integrated our rapid 3DNA™ dendrimer microRNA labeling method with Marligen’s carefully designed detection panels, provides an optimized solution with consistent performance and much needed sensitivity on the xMAP® high-throughput detection platform.”

“Because microRNA play such an important role in tumor development and progression, it is vital we offer researchers innovative tools that allow them to profile these biological markers in archived samples. Our collaboration with Genisphere allows us to provide one of the most rapid and sensitive methods to screen directly from such samples,” said James Lazar, Chief Scientific Officer of Marligen Biosciences. “This will not only advance basic research but should expedite the application of microRNA detection in the diagnosis of cancer.”

It’s strange, because this article couldn’t be more timely. The Founder & CEO, Sherry Challberg, was the one who hired me in April 1988 to move South to Maryland. It’s hard to believe that it has been 20 years ago to this day.

I was working in a lab at the University of Rochester doing papilloma virus research (which supported research leading to a Nobel prize for Micheal Bishop in 1989 and in support of research into Open Reading Frames, which lead to the 1993 Nobel Prize for Sharp & Roberts and also 1989 Nobel prize in Chemistry for Thomas Cech’s discovery of Ribozymes) and steroid hormone modulation of gene expression (in support of research into Protein Phosphorylation as a regulatory mechanism of proteins leading to the 1992 Nobel prize for Edmund Fisher and Edwin Krebs and leading to the discovery of COX-2 enzyme and COX-2 inhibitors in 1991 which was subsequently “borrowed” by Pfizer and made into the blockbuster drug Celebrex, reaffirming Dr Young’s assertion that I was leaving academia to go work in the “Evil Empire” that is Industrial research).

But enough name dropping, lest you think this blog is just about shameless self-promotion.

Back to the story. We moved down here in 1988 to work in the Molecular Diagnostics Division of Life Technologies. This was sold in 1990 or ‘91 to become Digene. To the left you see the 25 year old version of yours truly, pretending I am doing lab work. This is from the front page of the Baltimore Sun’s Business section on Dec. 21, 1988. The story was about our pending FDA approval for (one of?) the first clinically approved DNA test on the market. You may notice that the paper has a tinge of orange from age, and if you look closely, you’ll see my beard was still orange, too. By the way, the Dow closed at a mere 2,166 that day, a 1-year CD would yield 9.00 % and the Prime was 10.5%.

Genome Projector

I ran across this neat little tool called the Genome Projector via My BioTech Life. It’s a Google Maps based graphics program which contains 320 bacterial genomes and gives you a zoomable view of circular DNA sequences, pathways and a DNA walk. It’s pretty cool and I’ll link it in the Gene Jockey section later. Why don’t you give it a try?

More Tales About Cats and Virus

I picked up another story from the same group at NCI/SAIC-Frederick from GenomeWeb Daily News feed.

It would appear that if you have any questions about the feline genome, then Dr SJ O’Brien would be the person to speak with. I have always found it interesting, and quite different than myself, that people can get so deep and specific about a topic such as the cat genome. And this morning I have festered away quite a few hours on the topic myself. I find it fascinating that the authors are able to draw analogies between African Lion FIV and modes of transmission of HIV in humans.

The most recent article is actually available on from an “Open Access”, peer-reviewed journal, BMC Genomics. So, here’s the skinny on this publication (or should I say, just scratching the surface):

Conclusions

This study demonstrates the necessity of whole-genome analysis to complement population/gene-based studies, which are of limited utility in uncovering complex events such as recombination that may lead to functional differences in virulence and pathogenicity. These full-length lion lentiviruses are integral to the advancement of comparative genomics of human pathogens, as well as emerging disease in wild populations of endangered species.

Interestingly, in another featured article in the same publication, yet another “Frederick Connection”. One of the authors of the paper “A large-scale proteomic analysis of human embryonic stem cells“, Mahendra S Rao, was working closely with SuperArray on their Stem Cell platforms and then left to go to work across the street at Invitrogen.  I think that’s pretty cool!

Genetic Characterization of Feline Leukemia Virus from Florida Panthers

I ran across an interesting bit of research this morning while surfing. An article in the CDC Publication “Emerging Infectious Diseases”, authored by Meredith A. Brown, from NCI and Stephen J. O’Brien, SAIC-Frederick et al.

The suggested citation: Brown MA, Cunningham MW, Roca AL, Troyer JL, Johnson WE, O’Brien SJ. Genetic characterization of feline leukemia virus from Florida panthers. Emerg Infect Dis [serial on the Internet]. 2008 Feb [date cited]. Available from http://www.cdc.gov/EID/content/14/2/252.htm

Being in industry for the past 20 some odd years, I am not real hip on current publications and don’t even subscribe to PubMed. I get a lot out of the abstracts and turn to my more research-minded partners if I need to pull up a publication.

Here’s the abstract

Abstract
From 2002 through 2005, an outbreak of feline leukemia virus (FeLV) occurred in Florida panthers (Puma concolor coryi). Clinical signs included lymphadenopathy, anemia, septicemia, and weight loss; 5 panthers died. Not associated with FeLV outcome were the genetic heritage of the panthers (pure Florida vs. Texas/Florida crosses) and co-infection with feline immunodeficiency virus. Genetic analysis of panther FeLV, designated FeLV-Pco, determined that the outbreak likely came from 1 cross-species transmission from a domestic cat. The FeLV-Pco virus was closely related to the domestic cat exogenous FeLV-A subgroup in lacking recombinant segments derived from endogenous FeLV. FeLV-Pco sequences were most similar to the well-characterized FeLV-945 strain, which is highly virulent and strongly pathogenic in domestic cats because of unique long terminal repeat and envelope sequences. These unique features may also account for the severity of the outbreak after cross-species transmission to the panther.

Does anyone know if there is a central site for Publications coming out of NCI, NIAD, SAIC or any of the other Agencies at Ft Detrick? Drop me a line if you do. This is the kind of research I would like to give more publicity to in my little space on the web.

And don’t forget to check out the entire Calendar of seminars, all open to the public, hosted by NCI. I’ll stick them on the Calendar page since it’s a pretty long list.

NCI-Frederick November events

I lifted this table off NCI-Frederick’s web site and included it as a new link on the Calendar page:

Tuesday, November 06, 2007
8:30:00 AM	Michael Dean, PhD	Bldg 549 Conf. Rm B
	Cancer, Inflammation, and Stem Cells	Details Series
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
12:00:00 PM	Sina Bavari	Bldg 549 Auditorium
	Innate Immune Responses to Highly Pathogenic Microbes	Details Series
Friday, November 09, 2007
12:00:00 PM	Dr. Hal Broxmeyer	Bldg 549 Auditorium
	Regulation of Hematopoietic and Embryonic Stem Cells	Details Series
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
8:30:00 AM	Jacques Banchereau, PhD	Bldg 549 Conf. Rm B
	Harnessing Dendritic Cells to Build Cancer Vaccines	Details Series
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
12:00:00 PM	James Kelley	Bldg 549 Auditorium
	Getting a Charge Out of Chemistry: Making and Using Ions for Bioanalysis	Details Series
Friday, November 16, 2007
11:00:00 AM	Dr. Joseph Lakowicz, Director	Bldg 549 Auditorium
	Plasmon-Controlled Fluorescence: A New Paradigm in Biological Fluorescence	Details Series
12:00:00 PM	Dr. Licia Selleri	Bldg 426 Conf. Rm
	A First Step Towards a Genetic and Transcriptional Control of Spleen Development	Details Series
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
8:30:00 AM	Ian F. Tannock, MD, PhD,FRCPC	Bldg 549 Conf. Rm B
	Limited Drug Distribution and Repopulation as Important and Neglected Causes of Drug Resistance in Solid Tumors	Details Series
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
8:30:00 AM	Catherine M. Handy, PhD, RN, AOCN	Bldg 549 Conf. Rm B
	The Future is Bright Yet so Small: Nanotechnology and Cancer Therapy	Details Series
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
12:00:00 PM	Steven Hou	Bldg 549 Auditorium
	Molecular Genetic Study of Stem Cell Regulation in Drosophila and Mice	Details Series
Thursday, November 29, 2007
9:00:00 AM	Various Speakers	Bldg 10 Lipsett
	The IL-10 Cytokine Family: IL-10, IL-19, IL-20, IL-24 and IL-28/IL-29	Details
Friday, November 30, 2007
12:00:00 PM	Dr. William Paul	Bldg 549 Auditorium
	The2 Cells: Differentiation and Repertoire-dependent Immunopathology	Details Series

I think that these would be open to the public, but am awaiting verification from someone at NCI. This is the type of information I’ve been looking for that would benefit everyone in the Frederick County Biotech community. I was delighted and surprised to see Dr Harold Broxmeyer speaking 11/9. He is a giant in the field of hematopoeitic stem cell research and transplantation.