Sigma® Life Science launches genetically modified human cell lines for breast cancer research

Sigma Life Science, the innovative biological products and services research business of Sigma-Aldrich® (Nasdaq: SIAL), today announced the expansion of its CompoZr® Oncology Disease Model portfolio with the release of the first in its collection of breast cancer-specific knockout and knockin cell lines for drug discovery and research. These modified epithelial cell lines are expected to provide researchers with a characterized and known genetic background for basic research and pathway analysis. They are supplied with isogenic parental cell lines to allow high throughput, cell-based screening for drug discovery, target validation and mechanistic studies. For more information visit www.sigma.com/breastcancercells.

Important breast cancer genes – such as Estrogen Receptor, PTEN and HER2 – have been targeted using Sigma Life Science’s proprietary Zinc Finger Nuclease (ZFN) technology, to create stable and heritable genomic knockouts and to provide new cellular models of cancer. These modified human epithelial cell lines, including MCF10A, among others, offer researchers the complete knockout of disease-relevant target gene expression.

Supriya Shivakumar, Global Marketing Manager at Sigma Life Science, said, “These new knockout breast cancer cell lines, created using Sigma’s ground-breaking CompoZr® ZFN technology, are expected to be ideal for high throughput screens to determine whether patient-relevant genetic alterations affect drug sensitivity or drug resistance. Researchers now have immediate access to high-quality knockout isogenic human cell lines, which should reduce the costs and labor required for basic research and drug discovery, and could accelerate the development of personalized medicine.”