Fluidigm Corporation,
manufactures and markets proprietary Integrated Fluidic Circuit (IFC) systems
that significantly improve productivity in life science research, today announced
that Dr. Toshio Suda of Keio University's 21st Century Center of Excellence
(COE) Program, Graduate School of Medicine, has selected the BioMark™
System for Genetic Analysis to assist their research of mouse hematopoietic
single stem cells.
Keio University’s COE is using the unique microfluidic properties of
the Fluidigm’s integrated fluidic circuits (IFCs) to analyze selected
genes in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). The interaction of HSCs with their
particular microenvironment, known as the stem cell niche, is critical for adult
hematopoiesis in bone marrow. The COE plans to use both Fluidigm’s Dynamic
Array™ and Digital Array™ IFCs in this effort.
Keio University’s COE Graduate School of Medicine Program brings together
researchers and clinicians from stem cell biology, regenerative medicine, immunology,
autoimmune disease and infectious disease areas to form a scientific community
that conducts basic medical research, utilizing the elucidation of the pathology
of intractable diseases and unique disease model systems to develop new methods
of treatment.
“Dr. Suda’s work in modeling the differentiation of stem cells
and purification methods for hematopoietic stem cells is remarkable. We hope
Fluidigm’s technology and its ability to provide extreme sensitivity at
the single-cell level can help him unlock new vistas of understanding as Dr.
Suda explores hematopoietic stem cells and their niches,” said Gajus Worthington,
president and chief executive officer of Fluidigm.
“Our research in hematopoietic stem cells and how they interact with
their niches to maintain a balance between self-renewal and differentiation
is key to ultimately establishing techniques for niche-based therapy. The Fluidigm
BioMark technology enables us to easily study populations of HSCs on the single
cell level allowing us to accurately characterize the cellular and molecular
components of ‘Niche complex’,” said Dr. Suda.
The ability of Fluidigm’s microfluidic devices &ndash called integrated
fluidic circuits (IFCs) -- to isolate and control individual molecules provides
great insight into the development of biological events that influence stem
cell differentiation. Analyzing the stochastic differences between individual
cells typically requires studying large numbers of individual cells and genes.
Fluidigm’s IFC volume requirements are so low that researchers have been
able to study as many as 1,000 genes from an individual cell. The technology
facilitates thousands of single cell experiments allowing the biological differences
to manifest themselves.
A recent Nature Reports Stem Cells article noted: “Stem cells are defined
by their remarkable ability to self-renew and differentiate into specialized
cells. But even after careful sorting, a single population of stem cells is
dynamic: some divide rapidly and others more slowly; some differentiate, others
self-renew; some can give rise to more lineages than others. Because of this
variation, population studies of stem cells are unable to accurately address
essential questions, such as defining discrete steps from a single stem cell
to a complex population of cells.”
“Each stem cell needs to be treated as an individual because it’s
not necessarily in the same state at every point in time. You have to look at
them as individuals,” noted Worthington.
The complete Nature article is available at: http://www.nature.com/stemcells/2009/0905/090507/full/stemcells.2009.71.html