In vivo molecular pathology and pharmacology

      Why studying cells in their in vivo (patho)physiological environment 

      Photo by Antoinette Borchert50% of attrition in the clinical phase of drug development is attributed to lack of efficacy and unwanted toxicity of the new drug. It is safe to conclude, that  

      • we are not fully aware on the true molecular basis of human disease.
      • we lack knowledge on how a new drug in the drug development pipeline affects cells in complex in vivo tissues
       

      Eliminating these two important issues will allow you to make better drugs faster. We can assist you in creating a superior strategy for this purpose. 

      Cell behaviour in health and disease is intricately linked to a the microenvironment of cells. Studying in vivo cell dysfunction and responses to drugs is what matters, but the interpretation of whole tissue analysis is often hampered by the complexity of the tissue.

      The Vivomicx approach assigns drug effects and cell behaviour in complex tissue to certain cell types. This compartmentalization will provide a better insight in the true pharmacological behaviour of your new compound in relation to the disease status.  

       

      The Vivomicx approach 

      Photo by Antoinette BorchertWe developed a well validated protocol for analysing gene expression profiles in subsets of cells in complex tissues from animal and human origin. Using laser dissection microscopy, we isolate predestined cells from tissue sections and subject their RNA to quantitative RT-PCR analysis. It provides a unique way to unmask the molecular control of cell behaviour in different compartments of healthy and diseased tissues. Also, the effects of therapeutic intervention can be analysed at the molecular level in the cells you are interested in.