Abcam to partner in the EPITRON project
Abcam is pleased to announce its participation in the EPIgenetic TReatment Of Neoplastic disease (EPITRON) project, as a partner and collaborator. EPITRON is funded by the European Union under the 6th Framework Programme. This multi-disciplinary consortium will define ‘epigenetic’ alterations between cancer and healthy cells and work to develop an entire pipeline of novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of cancer that are based on ‘epigenetics’.
‘Epigenetic’, or non-gene factors, control which regions of our DNA are expressed. Over our lifetime, epigenetic changes can alter the expression of genes and effect their regulation. Sometimes these epigenetic changes can be lost and subsequently alter the expression of genes called tumor suppressors that regulate cell growth. Alterations in tumor suppressors can lead to increased cell growth and the onset of cancer.
Comprising ten academic research groups, three small enterprise companies and one pharmaceutical company, the consortium have strengths and expertise in basic research and also drug development and design. Together the EPITRON consortium is working towards the generation of novel ‘epi-drugs’ to target and regulate the epigenetic makeup of the cell and reprogram cancer cells to normal cells.
EPITRON consortium website
Abcam’s contribution within EPITRON:
Abcam is dedicated to providing high quality antibodies for the EPITRON consortium. New EPITRON antibody projects are being initiated every month and since November 2005 over 120 projects have commenced. These antibodies will at a later date become available to the wider scientific community though Abcam’s website. Abcam’s antibody contribution to the consortium will assist the researchers in reaching its goal to “pave the way to novel types of cancer therapy”.
Abcam has installed a NEW Xpress high-throughput chromatography apparatus enabling high-quality affinity purification of antibodies as well as establishing a dedicated in-house EPITRON team that will characterize all the antibodies.
