Alert icon

Winter Weather Shipping Delays: Due to inclement weather conditions there may be delays in our shipping services. Please note that your order could be impacted by these expected weather-related disruptions.

Thank you for your understanding and support!

Contact us
ATCC 100 Years Logo Anniversary ATCC 100 Years Logo Anniversary 0
  • Quick Order
  • Careers
  • Support

From Curiosity to Breakthroughs: Accelerate Your Drug Development with Assay Ready Cells

Researcher working with microplate panel for elisa analysis

Abstract

The human monocytic cell line THP-1 (ATCC TIB-202) is a versatile and essential tool for the biomedical research community.  It has widespread applications in immuno-oncology and toxicology research, including modeling of acute monocytic leukemia and associated disorders, testing of new drug compounds, and development of new cell and gene therapy products. However, the use of THP-1 and other cell lines in cell-based assays presents challenges such as lengthy cell expansion which can lead to genetic drift and variability, increased risk for microbial contamination, and authentication issues, which can arise from misidentified or cross-contaminated cultures. To overcome these challenges and to streamline the workflow for cell-based assays, ATCC has recently developed the ThawReady™ platform. These cells have been cultured and cryopreserved in optimal conditions which enable them to be used in a “thaw and go” assay-ready format.  Here, we highlight novel applications of the ThawReady™ THP-1 NFkB-LUC2 (ATCC TIB-202-NFkB-LUC2-AR) cell line in different in vitro immunological assays.  Specifically, we have leveraged these cells to study the functional effects of various types of extracellular vesicles (EVs) by evaluating their anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic properties relative to known therapeutic compounds. These studies have allowed us to rapidly screen and identify EV populations with potential reparative properties for use in downstream experiments.  Additionally, since THP-1 cells have the ability to differentiate into macrophage-like cells we have utilized them for studies relating to HIV-1. Our data demonstrates that ThawReady™ cells are permissive to robust infection in the presence of Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA).  Furthermore, we show that treatment of infected cells with either cART or drugs of abuse can significantly alter the levels of viral replication.  Collectively, our data demonstrates the convenience, consistency, and efficiency of using the ATCC ThawReady™ platform to accelerate innovative and impactful research that has widespread application to multiple fields including immunology, virology, and regenerative medicine.

Download the presentation to learn how to accelerate drug development with ThawReady™

Download

Presenters

Fatah Kashanchi, headshot.

Fatah Kashanchi, PhD

Professor, George Mason University

Dr. Kashanchi received his PhD in 1990 under the supervision of Dr. Charles Wood who also worked with the Nobel Laurite, Dr. Susumu Tonegawa at MIT. He then moved to National Cancer Institute at NIH’s intramural program and continued his work on RNA viral infections with the late John Brady on HIV and HTLV transcription and chromatin complexes.  He is currently a Tenured Faculty in the department of Systems Biology at the Prince William Campus of George Mason University.  He has obtained independent funding of more than $28.9 M in funding (NIH, DOD, DOE, and Keck) since his departure from NIH in 2000. He has published more than 270 peer-reviewed manuscripts (h index = 76) and served as an editorial board and reviewer for number of journals including Cell, Molecular Cell, Nature, Nature Medicine, Science Translational Medicine, Retrovirology, JBC, J. Virol, Virology, NAR, and 4 PLoS journals. He is a regular NIH study section member and has served on 163 panels and chaired 21 since 2000. 

Heather Branscome headshot

Heather Branscome, PhD

Senior Scientist, ATCC

Dr. Heather Branscome is a Senior Scientist with ATCC. Throughout her 17-year career she has gained broad experience working in both academic and industry settings. She has extensive experience in cell and molecular biology and completed her graduate training in Biosciences from George Mason University. While at ATCC she has held positions in manufacturing, quality control, and technology transfer to support the production and qualification of cell lines and other critical biological reagents to support the scientific community. In her current role she manages a team of biologists to support the CDC’s International Reagent Resources (IRR) program, as well as other government contracts. Since 2018, she has played a key role in establishing and maintaining ATCC’s extracellular vesicle (EV) portfolio. In this role she was responsible for developing and validating large-scale EV manufacturing protocols and performing various EV biochemical and functional assays. Her current research is focused on advanced methods for EV purification, characterization of novel EV subtypes, and mechanistic studies of stem cell-derived EVs in different models of cellular repair. She currently serves as director and instructor for two local Bio-Trac® biotechnology training programs and maintains an active affiliation with George Mason University.

ELISA plate to measure OD with microplate reader. Microtiter plate (96 well) reader for biochemistry analysis.

ThawReady™ by ATCC Logo

Cell-based assays have lengthy timelines due to the requirement of cell expansion processes to get a synchronized cell stock. To speed your timelines while providing you with the consistency you need, ATCC developed ThawReady™ Assay Ready Cells. ATCC ThawReady™ products will streamline your workflows by months, allowing you to focus on advancing drug discovery and development. You simply thaw, plate, and go.

Explore ThawReady™ Assay Ready Cells