Sigma Life Science and King's College to collaborate
On the development of miRNA target identification technology
Sigma Life Science, the biological products and services research business of Sigma-Aldrich, and King's College London, have announced an exclusive licence to develop new technology for the identification and validation of microRNA (miRNA) targets in research and clinical diagnostics.
miRNAs are critical regulators of gene expression in eukaryotic cells, with more than 1,000 different miRNAs in the human genome already known to play multiple roles in gene regulation. Although the specific targets of most miRNAs are largely unknown, aberrant expression of miRNAs has been implicated in numerous diseases, making them important targets for clinical research in oncology, wound healing and infectious disease.
The identification of miRNA targets currently relies on computer algorithms and subsequent validation by in vitro assays, which is both laborious and time-consuming. To overcome this research bottleneck, scientists in the division of Cancer Studies at King's have developed a technology that allows simple identification and validation of miRNA targets.
Dr Joop Gaken, lead researcher of this project, said: ‘This new test is expected to enable the straightforward identification of target genes that are strongly regulated by a given miRNA, helping to elucidate important gene regulation events in vivo.’
Steven Suchyta, market segment manager at Sigma-Aldrich, said miRNA research is a rapidly growing field, and this test is expected to be an invaluable asset to commercial and academic researchers working with miRNAs.
‘We believe that the exclusive license agreement will allow Sigma Life Science and King's College London to work closely together to ensure rapid development of this technology,’ he said.
