TRβ joins TRα in the growing line of all-inclusive INDIGO Nuclear Receptor Assay Systems

June 9, 2011- State College, PA INDIGO Biosciences, The Nuclear Receptor Company, announces the addition of another product to its growing line of INDIGO Nuclear Receptor Assay Kits. The INDIGO TRβ Assay Kits are a robust, easy-to-use, high and low throughput screening solution for researchers in drug discovery and development research and toxicology studies.

Thyroid Hormone Receptor Beta (TRβ) is a nuclear hormone receptor protein in humans encoded by the THRB gene. TRβ is one the receptors for thyroid hormone and has been proven to control many of the biological activities of this hormone. The INDIGO TRβ Assay Kits are a valuable asset for researchers screening test samples to quantify any functional activity, either agonist or antagonist, that they may exert against human TRβ.

The new INDIGO TRb Assay Kit joins the growing line of complete cell-based assay kits offered by the company, which includes TRα. “Thyroid hormones (THs) have prominent effects on growth, development, and metabolism in almost all tissues,” says Jack Vanden Heuvel, CSO at INDIGO Biosciences. ‘They elicit their effects by activating TH receptors TRα or TRβ. TRβ is the predominant isoform in the liver, brain, and kidney, whereas TRα is predominantly expressed in muscle and brown adipose fat. Compounds that specifically target TRβ have consistently been shown to decrease atherosclerosis in animal models, and may hypothetically be useful as a complement to statin therapy in the prevention of cardiovascular disease.”

For researchers studying both isoforms of Thyroid Receptor, INDIGO now offers a convenient panel system, containing 48-wells of each TRα and TRb on a single 96-well plate.
The INDIGO TRβ Assay Kits are an all-inclusive lab-in-a-box that enables researchers to go from freezer to data in 24 hours in four easy steps: Thaw, Feed, Dose, Read. INDIGO Nuclear Receptor Assay Kits set a new standard for convenience by eliminating cumbersome, time-consuming cell counting and wash steps.

The INDIGO TRβ Assay Kits are highly reliable. They use stable-glow luciferase chemistry to produce results with excellent Z’ scores and high signal-to-noise ratios. INDIGO Biosciences’ proprietary cryopreservation process, CryoMite, has 95% cell viability post-thaw and enables INDIGO Nuclear Receptor Assay Kits to be shipped anywhere in the United States overnight, making them ready to use when the researcher is ready to test.