New XFp Cell Energy Phenotype Test Determines Metabolic Potential

-- Kit will be used in evaluating metabolic and immunotherapeutic solutions to fight cancer

BILLERICA, Massachusetts, April 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --Seahorse Bioscience, the world leader in tools for cell metabolism research, introduces the XFp Cell Energy Phenotype Test Kit. The kit enables a unique real-time assay on live cells that determines their baseline metabolic phenotype and potential. This one-hour test measures both the mitochondrial and glycolytic activity of the cells, and compares their baseline values with metabolic activity under stressed conditions, induced by a single injection, to determine the metabolic potential - the cells' ability to respond to an energy demand. This kit has been designed specifically for use with the XFp Extracellular Flux Analyzer.

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Traditionally, mitochondrial respiration and glycolytic activity is obtained from a number of separate assays, with the comparison performed after the assay completion. The new XFp Cell Energy Phenotype Test is the only method available that can provide a metabolic phenotype with which scientists can make direct, functional comparisons of both metabolic pathways between groups of live cells. With this information cancer researchers can then quickly realize the functional consequences of somatic mutations in terms of metabolic adaptations and reprogramming events that drive tumor malignancies.

"This application was eight years in the making as it required both adoption of our XF platform and standardization of metabolic assays pioneered by Seahorse. We've discovered a way to map the metabolic phenotype of any cell, regardless of its energy and metabolic status, by integrating our real-time measures of mitochondrial respiration and glycolysis into a single powerful test," stated David Ferrick, Ph.D., CSO of Seahorse Bioscience. "This single, definitive assay puts the full power of XF Technology into the hands of both experts and novices alike. Our goal will be fully met when we are successful in helping researchers find new cures."

"Scientists are often unsure of which metabolic assay to choose, especially in undefined cellular model systems. This new energy map is like a GPS for metabolism," added Steve Chomicz, VP, Sales, Marketing and Support at Seahorse Bioscience. "In less than an hour, non-metabolic researchers can get powerful functional metabolic data revealing the metabolic potential of their cells."

By simultaneously measuring the relative utilization of the two major energy pathways under both basal and stressed conditions, researchers can now quickly realize the metabolic consequence of genetic changes. For example, theXFp Cell Energy Phenotype Test makes it easy to examine the role of metabolism in linking tumor survival and the Ras oncogenes. The XF Cell Energy Phenotype of tumors containing the Ras oncogenes shows a significant reliance on glycolysis for energy when stressed, revealing a metabolic vulnerability for survival in the hypoxic and acidic environment of a large tumor.

The XFp Cell Energy Phenotype Test requires only a small amount of sample to measure the metabolic phenotype and metabolic potential of cells, and the XFp Cell Energy Phenotype Report Generator software automatically calculates the parameters of the test, simplifying data analysis and interpretation. The kit is used with the XFp Analyzer and is ideal for use in pairwise comparisons, as well as with patient-derived and other precious samples. With a better understanding of the connection of physiological traits of cells with genomic and proteomic data, scientists are generating new insights into metabolic function, leading to a greater understanding, and new treatments of disease. There are now over 1,500 references to XF Technology in published articles in leading scientific journals.

About Seahorse Bioscience

Founded in 2001, Seahorse Bioscience is headquartered in Billerica, Massachusetts, U.S. and has regional offices in Copenhagen, Denmark and Shanghai, China. XF Technology and XF test kits have set the standard in the measurement of cell metabolism, enabling scientists worldwide to advance their research in neurodegeneration, aging, cancer, cardiovascular, cell physiology, toxicology and hepatobiology, immunology, infectious diseases, mitochondrial diseases, model organisms, obesity, diabetes, metabolic disorders, screening and translational medicine. Learn more about Seahorse Bioscience at www.seahorsebio.com.

Editorial Contacts:
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Jennifer Dahlgren, Dahlgren Communications
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