Solutions for Tumor and Cell Signaling

Relying on the technology platform of the tumor microenvironment center, Alfa Cytology provides comprehensive solutions for studying how cell signaling in TME affects tumorigenesis and progression, helping researchers to successfully achieve their research goals.

Introduction

The signaling pathway is the transmission of extracellular stimuli from the cell surface into the cell, which initiates the signal transduction pathway in the cytoplasm and transmits signals to the nucleus through various pathways to promote or inhibit the expression within specific target groups. With the rapid development of molecular biology, molecular oncology and molecular pharmacology, the nature of tumor has been further elucidated, and the research of antitumor drugs has entered a new era. The research of antitumor drugs is developing from traditional cytotoxic drugs to new antitumor drugs with multi-linked effects on mechanisms, among which anticancer drugs targeting cellular signal transduction molecules are one of the main development directions of new antitumor drugs.

Changes in external environment or internal factors directly affect cell proliferation and death, and their effects on the body are transmitted through cell signaling molecules. Under normal conditions, cell proliferation and death are in a dynamic balance. However, the overexpression of proto-oncogenes and inactivation of oncogenes in tumor cells disrupt this balance, resulting in unlimited cell proliferation. Blocking the signal transduction pathway of tumor-related genes can induce apoptosis and inhibit tumor growth.

Solutions

Cellular signal transduction molecules are important entry points for the search of novel antitumor drugs, and their targets mainly include protein tyrosine kinase, protein kinase C, mitogen-activated protein kinase, farnesyltransferase, cell cycle regulatory factor and transcription factor NF-κB, etc. Their inhibitors can be used as novel anticancer drugs.

Alfa Cytology has established an innovative tumor microenvironment center technology platform and is developing multiple technologies aimed at investigating the mechanisms by which cell signaling affects tumorigenesis and progression in the tumor microenvironment. Currently, several major signaling pathways associated with tumorigenesis are being explored, such as hedgehog signaling pathway, Wnt signaling pathway, tyrosine kinase receptor pathway, transforming growth factor-β pathway (TGF-β), nuclear factor-κB signaling pathway (NF-κB), and integrin transduction pathway. We will elucidate their mechanisms of action in order to deeply study the pathogenesis of tumors, and hope to attack tumors from this breakthrough.

Key technologies

Optogenetics is a new technology that combines the genetic expression of proteins with laser light control and imaging to achieve control of cellular behavior and responses. Optogenetics, with its non-destructive, non-invasive, high spatial and temporal resolution and high reversibility, has effectively solved some of the drawbacks of traditional research methods. Alfa Cytology has been able to specifically activate specific signaling pathways in response to blue light stimulation by optogenetically modifying cells. By establishing a controlled blue light stimulation to achieve quantitative activation and manipulation of intracellular signaling pathways, the regulatory mechanism of signaling pathways during tumor cell development can be investigated in depth.

Microarray and high-throughput sequencing were combined to establish nucleic acid / protein / metabolite expression profiles. The expression profiles of different levels of signaling pathways, such as from cell membrane, cytoplasm to nucleus, will be established and analyzed to obtain a complete network of signaling pathways. The expression profiles of different factors can also reveal that some molecules are common to various pathways, while others are more specific to a certain pathway. This information can not only lay the foundation for elucidating the mechanisms of tumor cell survival, proliferation, adhesion, differentiation and apoptosis, but also serve as a key for studying how tumor cell signaling pathways act on tumorigenesis and development, and as a basis for tumor intervention strategies.

Alfa Cytology is committed to supporting scientists in making breakthrough scientific discoveries and developing new applications to accelerate new drug discovery and scientific diagnosis and treatment. Our high-performance scientific instruments and high-value solutions enable scientists to explore the mysteries of life at the tumor microenvironment level. Please tell us your project requirements, and we will provide you with a full service from solution to report. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

All of our services and products are intended for preclinical research use only and cannot be used to diagnose, treat or manage patients.