Evercyte standardized fibrosis assays to screen drugs and EVs

Evercyte can now supply extracellular vesicles (EVs) with anti-fibrotic activity, as well as potency assays to test anti-fibrotic activity in vitro.

These offerings meet increasing demand for specific EVs and assays caused by growing recognition of fibrosis as a cause for disease and mortality, highlighting needs for effective anti-fibrotic treatments.

In vitro bioassays

Use of relevant and standardizable human cell lines are also very useful in running in vitro bioassays that resemble the corresponding primary cells in vivo, with expression of typical cell-type specific markers and functions.

For testing anti-fibrotic activity of compounds or EVs, Evercyte has established a relevant and standardizable in vitro test system. Telomerized dermal fibroblasts and pulmonary fibroblasts treated with TGF beta homogenously express alpha smooth muscle actin, which is a key event in physiological and pathological tissue repair.

Evercyte ́s human lung LF/TERT309 and dermal fibroblast fHDF/TERT166 cell lines can both be grown without limitations while maintaining expression of cell type specific markers and functions. Therefore, these cells are valuable as standardized in vitro models. The former line can be used to study pulmonary function and pathophysiology such as airway inflammation and remodeling or production of extracellular matrix compounds, while the latter can be used to study formation of the extracellular matrix, inflammation, wound healing or fibrosis. Moreover, the fHDF/TERT166 cells embedded into a collagen matrix and co-cultured with telomerized keratinocytes allow the establishment of standardizable 3D skin equivalents.

Extracellular vesicles with anti-fibrotic activity

Evercyte has developed mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) lines that produce extracellular vesicles with anti-fibrotic activity. Addition of EVs from different MSCs significantly inhibits alpha SME expression, indicating that EVs from these cells inhibit myofibroblast differentiation and might exert anti-fibrotic activity.

Importantly, Evercyte’s EV production cell lines are grown under xeno-free conditions and will allow standardized production of extracellular vesicles; also for production of clinical grade extracellular vesicles. This is supported by full documentation that also fully records all manipulation steps and xeno-free conditions to speed pathways to full clinical production of EVs.

Evercyte also offers licensing out of its EV production cell lines and fibroblasts for running anti-fibrotic activity assays, as well as support for technical transfer.

Resources

Click on Testing the potency of EVs for detail on anti-fibrotic and anti-inflammatory EV testing.
Click on Services testing anti-fibrotic activity for detail on in vitro bioassays.
Click on Extracellular vesicles cell factories for more information about Evercyte EV standardized cell production lines.
Click on extracellular vesicles ready to use for detail on Evercyte’s off the shelf EVs.
Click on Lung LF/TERT309 for detail on Evercyte human lung fibroblast cell line.
Click on Skin fHDF/TERT166  for detail on Evercyte dermal fibroblast cell line.