Immuno-Oncology Cell lines by Sigma-Aldrich® by Merck

Gene editing experts at Sigma-Aldrich have created immuno-oncology cell lines that include functional biologically-relevant tumor-associated antigen and monoallelic HLA panel cell lines that express either individual tumor antigens at varying levels or individual HLAs. Their immuno-oncology cell lines will help you effectively produce reliable and consistent results for several assays and applications, including, but not limited to:

• Cytokine Release Assays
• ADCC Assays
• Cytotoxicity Assays
• Live Cell Imaging Potency Assays
• T Cell Activation Assays
• FACS Analysis
• Cytokine Release Assays
• Potency Assays

The tumor-associated antigen panels are engineered to give you the most biologically relevant cell lines for your immunotherapeutic research. To create the panels Merck utilized CompoZr^® zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) and MISSION^® lentiviral technologies to generate assay-ready antigen expressing cell lines. These cell lines have been created to deliver controlled levels of surface antigens. Each panel includes cells expressing antigens at knock-out (KO), low and high levels, allowing you to effectively measure the efficacy of therapeutics in a controlled environment. Merck offer panels from three parental cell lines (Raji, A549, A375) expressing individual tumor antigens. 

The human leukocyte antigen system (the major histocompatibility complex [MHC] in humans) plays a critical role in the immune system. Merck's HLA panel cell lines have been engineered to express mono-allelic Class I HLAs, allowing more detailed and controlled investigation of the impacts of immune system variability on cancers, infectious disease and autoimmune disorders. These cell lines are generated by using CompoZr^® zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) technology to knock out (KO) endogenous B2M. Newly created parental cells are fully characterized before the introduction of HLAs of interest using lentiviral transduction and overexpression. While other cell lines may present characterized HLAs, Merck's panels are the only lines to be constructed from a biologically relevant parental line that has B2M fully knocked out. This provides a consistent model for testing the impact of novel therapeutics or understanding disease progression in populations with distinct HLA subtypes. HLA subtype panels are currently available in Raji, A549 and Jurkat cells. 

In addition, custom lines and HLA or antigen targets are available through Sigma-Aldrich's Cell Design Studio^® Custom Cell Engineering Services. Whether you are developing potency assays or doing early discovery research, Merck help you get to a more accurate answer faster.