Chronic pain is a condition that affects tens of millions of Americans. Pain management has generally relied on NSAIDS and opioids, both of which have drawbacks. Put simply, novel pain therapeutics are needed.
Collaborating researchers from the University of New Mexico released a study earlier this month about an experimental chronic pain therapeutic. They relied on our Preferred Fetal Bovine Serum (cat. FBS007) for the cell culturing in their study.
Image: Immunostaining of human DRG cultured using Preferred FBS.
The scientists decided to target the P2X4 receptor (P2X4R), known for its role in pain signaling, with a humanized single-chain variable fragment (hscFv) targeting P2X4R. hscFvs are genetically engineered antibody fragments that are starting to become of increased interest in drug discovery.
After culturing human DRG neurons, HEK-293T cells, and HEK-293T cells stably expressing human His-tagged P2X4R with our FBS, the samples were pretreated with the hscFv targeting P2X4R. They found that P2X4R activity and neuronal excitability were both decreased in cells treated with the hscFv compared to the control.
These early results suggest that hscFv could be a promising therapeutic for patients with chronic pain. You can read the full paper here.
Bottom image: Immunostaining of HEK-293T cells stably expressing human His-tagged P2X4R cells grown using Neuromics Preferred FBS.
Neuromics Preferred FBS is our most affordable FBS option. It is suitable for general cell culturing projects. However, as this study demonstrates, it can also be used to culture cell lines and primary cells. Check it out below!
| Name | Catalog # | Type | Species | Applications | Size | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FBS - Heat Inactivated Preferred Fetal Bovine Serum | FBS007-HI | Cell Growth Media | All | Cell Assays | 500 ml | $305.00 |
| FBS - Preferred Fetal Bovine Serum | FBS007 | Cell Growth Media | All | Cell Assays | 500 ml | $300.00 |