Primary Human Brain Pericytes

Pure and Potent
The authors of a chapter on pericytes published in SpringerLink referred to our human primary pericytes as "pericyte-like", but chose not to characterize them because of the "exorbitant cost". Dore-Duffy P., Esen N. (2018) The Microvascular Pericyte: Approaches to Isolation, Characterization, and Cultivation. In: Birbrair A. (eds) Pericyte Biology - Novel Concepts. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 1109. Springer, Cham

Given that these pericytes are also part of our hot selling 3-D Human BBB Model, we are in the process of challenging these claims. We will always take inaccurate claims regarding our solutions seriously, and we take immediate action.

• Characterization of cells-we validated several key markers by immunofluorescence.

Staining of Desmin (dilution 1:100). Secondary antibody conjugated to Alexa 594 (red) and counterstained with DAPI (blue). Cells were mounted using iBrite mounting media.

Staining of Actin (dilution 25 ug/mL). Secondary antibody conjugated to Alexa 594 (red) and counterstained with DAPI (blue). Cells were mounted using iBrite mounting media.

We also plan on doing a phenotypic analysis of these cells and will post here when completed.

• Cost of cells-isolating pericytes from human donors, and expanding to the required number of cells involves much time and effort. We know! Further differentiating stem cells into pericytes is hard and time-consuming. Against this backdrop, we consider our pricing to be inexpensive. Though they are more difficult to derive, they are priced equivalently with our other human primary cells ($789/500,000 USD Cells).

As always, we will post new data here.

Neuromics' BBB Model and Permeability Assays

Crossing the Blood-Brain Barrier
Our BBB Model is being increasingly used by Bio-Pharma for drug permeability studies. Customers include Amgen, Genentech, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Merck.

These assays are key for making sure molecules/compounds of interest will cross the barrier into the brain and at what rate. This data, in part, add clarity on best candidates to move into in-vivo testing.

Human Blood Brain Barrier Model	3D45002	12 well
Human Blood Brain Barrier Model	3D45002	24 well
Human Blood Brain Barrier Model	3D45002	6 wells

I you have interest in using our models, Rose Ludescher, Manager of Customer Satisfaction, can provide information aligned with your assay requiremenst. rose@neuromics.com or 1-866-350-1500.

Your Brain Trust

Trust is hard to gain and easy to lose. My focus over the past 12 years has been to earn the trust of all our clients. This means that we do everything possible to insure our solutions work. When we come up short, we strive to resolve your issues the same day, and we have one of the easiest replacement policies in the market today. Here's proof.

Trust and Testimonials: We use BirdEye, a 3rd party, to collect and manage feedback from our clients.

★5★on BirdEye, Aug 29, 2016

C. H.

The order arrived quickly. The service was great!
Product Name: Human Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cells, 500,000+ Cells, - (Cat# HEC02)
Human Brain Microvascular Pericytes (HBMPVCs), 500,000+ Cells, - (Cat# HMP104)
http://bit.ly/2bzQlPn
ENDO-Growth Media, - (Cat#MED001)
http://www.neuromics.com/endo-growth-media
Pericyte-Growth Media, - (Cat# PGB001)
http://www.neuromics.com/pericyte-growth-media
Organization: UCSF

HBMPVCs in Culture

Trust and Publications: There are hundreds of publication referencing use of our products. Want to see if a product of interest is published? Just Ask

Need hard to find human cells? Please contact me directly pshuster@neuromics.com or 612-801-1007. We can together determine your needs and desired outcomes and provide a statement of work with pricing, project milestones and delivery.

We wish you a productive October filled with new and exciting discoveries.

Human Astrocytes

Cortex Derived Astrocytes

Neuromics is pleased to be offering yet another option for culturing Human Astrocytes. They can be passaged up to 10X-Only 749 USD/500,000 Cells

They are deigned to be easy to culture and grow.

 Image: Human Brain Astrocytes cultured with our AlphaBioCoat.

Check out our large offering of Neurons, Astroglia, Progenitors, Brain Endothelial Cells/Pericytes and Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) Model. Should you have questions on these or any of our offerings, I can be reached directly at 612-801-1007 or pshuster@neuromics.com. Thank you, Pete Shuster-CEO and Owner.

3-D Cell Based Assays Are Evolving

3-D Multicell Models and Gels

There is a growing body of publications of why 3-D matters in drug discovery and toxicology assays. This table shows important distinctions for single cell assays.

Cellular characteristics	2D	3D	Refs.
Morphology	Sheet-like flat and stretched cells in monolayer	Natural shape in spheroid/aggregate structures	20,24,50
Proliferation	Often proliferate at a faster rate than in vivo	May proliferate at a faster/slower rate compared to 2D-cultured cells depending on cell type and/or type of 3D model system	17,51
Exposure to medium/drugs	Cells in monolayer are equally exposed to nutrients/growth factors/drugs that are distributed in growth medium	Nutrients and growth factors or drugs may not be able to fully penetrate the spheroid, reaching cells near the core	24,52
Stage of cell cycle	More cells are likely to be in the same stage of cell cycle due to being equally exposed to medium	Spheroids contain proliferating, quiescent, hypoxic and necrotic cells	18,24,53
Gene/protein expression	Often display differential gene and protein expression levels compared to in vivo models	Cells often exhibit gene/protein expression profiles more similar to those in vivo tissue origins	17,40,54
Drug sensitivity	Cells often succumb to treatment and drugs appear to be very effective	Cells are often more resistant to treatment compared to those in 2D culture system, often being better predictors of in vivo drug responses	17,33

Table: Key Differences in Cellular Characteristics and Processes in Two-Dimensional and Three-Dimensional Culture Systems

Assay Drug Dev Technol. 2014 May 1; 12(4): 207–218.

doi:  10.1089/adt.2014.573

From the table, we see, for the most part, the overall advantages of cells in 3-D for generating more in vivo like data. We also see potential issues like: "Nutrients and growth factors or drugs may not be able to fully penetrate the spheroid, reaching cells near the core".  

We have resolved penetration issues with our engineered Collagel Hydrogels. We have further enhanced the assays by including multicell assays that even more closely mimic the in vivo environment.

Our Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) Model, for example, includes our:

• Human Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cells
• Human Brain Microvascular Pericytes (HBMVPCs)
• Human Brain Astrocytes (HBA)

These cells are pre-cultured in the engineered gels and cost a fraction of the individual components (see: culturing and assay protocol).

Name	Catalog #			Size	Price
Human Blood Brain Barrier Model	3D45002-6			6 wells 12 well 24 well	$1,780 $2,600 $3,625

Our intention is for you to generate the most in vivo like data possible.

Ready to Use Blood Brain Barrier Model (BBB)

6, 12 and 24 Well Options

We are pleased to introduce our BBB Model. It is designed to provide more in vivo like data for your drug discovery and toxicology assays.

Our model mimic transport properties of the BBB due to the formation of tight junctions, higher expression of specific carriers, or great cell viability. The model includes brain endothelial cells with pericytes and astrocytes layered in an insert. This model improves endothelial cell polarization and enhance the formation of tight junctions, provide better endothelial cell-to-cell contact that is important for barrier development, and prevent the dilution of secreted neurotrophic factors, and these conditions collectively led to the development of an in vitro model that can truly mimic the BBB.

Diagram of BBB Model Transporters

Our Protocol includes methods for Drug Penetration Asays. 

Transport of a molecule (blue) through 3D Human BBB Model in a luminal to basal direction 

Calculation of apparent permeability (Papp in cm/min)

Apparent permeability coefficient Papp (in cm/min) based on the Fick's law can be calculated according to the following equation:

V_A: volume of abluminal chamber (cm³)

A: membrane surface area (1.12 cm²)

[C]_L: initial luminal tracer concentration (ng/ml)

[C]_A : abluminal tracer concentration (ng/ml) t : time of experiment (min)

 Our goal is to provide you better data...at a lower cost.