Sigma Life Science CompoZr Oncology Disease Model portfolio

Sigma Life Science has expanded 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 characterised 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.

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.

The new knockout breast cancer cell lines, created using Sigma’s CompoZr ZFN technology, are expected to be suitable 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 labour required for basic research and drug discovery and could accelerate the development of personalised medicine.