Amsbio has launched the PluriPCR kit for use in all areas of pluripotent stem cell research.
The kit has been designed as a quantitative, easy-to-use and reliable assay of five genes strongly specific to pluripotency.
These genes - Oct-3/4; Nanog; DNMT3b; Dppa4; and Rex1 - are expressed by human embryonic stem cells (hESC) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC); all are sharply down-regulated during differentiation.
Stem cell scientists will be able to accurately define the pluripotency of a cell line using the PluriPCR kit.
PluriPCR is easy to use with existing real-time quantitative PCR equipment.
It uses five key genes, in combination with a normalisation method, which gives a reliable and quantitative readout for the pluripotency of a cell line.
The kit is suitable for all aspects of pluripotent stem cell research, to measure if culture conditions are resulting in the loss of pluripotency, to assess successful nuclear reprogramming of iPS cells, and even as a release assay in the manufacture and clinical development of pluripotent stem cells.
The PluriPCR kit is fully optimised for routine quality control using either two-step or one-step real-time quantitative PCR methods.
The assay kit combines multiple pluripotency and housekeeping markers and an analysis tool to assess the pluripotency of cell lines.
The resultant PluriPCR Index is a simple method to understand if pluripotent stem cells are differentiating.