Screening Service Identifies Diagnostic Markers

A new screening service is designed as a cost-effective solution for the identification of diagnostic markers of disease and new drug targets.

The screen used by the service simultaneously detects the presence and relative quantities of 34 critical protein phosphorylation sites in humans and diverse animal models. This screen was developed by Kinexus Bioinformatics Corp. (Vancouver, Canada) in collaboration with Stressgen Bioreagents (Victoria, Canada). Kinexus currently tracks over 180 protein kinases, 150 phospho-sites in kinase targets, and 120 other signaling proteins that regulate cell proliferation, stress responses, and apoptosis.

Mapping the human phospho-proteome is a promising endeavor, because defects in protein phosphorylation are linked to more than 400 human diseases, and the protein kinases that carry out this important process have emerged as the second leading class of targets for drug discovery. The Kinetworks approach has already been used by hundreds of clients to reveal striking differences in the expression levels and phosphorylation patterns of signaling proteins within diverse model systems and disease states.

For example, the same approach has been used to identify several promising protein kinase drug targets, including Jun N-terminal kinase and Polo-like kinase-1, which if suppressed may block the reproduction of tumor cells without many of the negative side effects commonly associated with existing cancer drugs. The new service is called Kinetworks Phospho-Site Screening Service KPSS 6.0.





Related Links:
Kinexus Bioinformatics
Stressgen Bioreagents