Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: Roche NimbleGen and Sigma-Aldrich Collaborate to Advance Epigenetic Research

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Abstract:
Roche NimbleGen and Sigma-Aldrich (Nasdaq:SIAL) have started a collaboration to further chromatin immunoprecipitation-on-microarray (ChIP-chip) research by aligning their two complementary technologies, Roche NimbleGen's ChIP-chip high-density microarrays and GenomePlex by Sigma-Aldrich. Together, the platforms enable researchers to effectively study the entire genome for epigenetic interactions between DNA and DNA-binding proteins to determine regions of the genome that are transcriptionally active or repressed as well as the mechanisms that regulate these processes. Understanding the fundamental epigenomic and genomic regulatory pathways underlying normal cell growth and tissue differentiation, as well as changes in regulatory control associated with disease, is crucial for the development of drugs that target these pathways.

Roche NimbleGen and Sigma-Aldrich Collaborate to Advance Epigenetic Research

MADISON, WI and ST. LOUIS, MO | Posted on April 22nd, 2009

To facilitate the ChIP-chip workflow, Roche NimbleGen and Sigma-Aldrich will publish protocols for ChIP-chip research and provide technical support to researchers integrating the two technologies, as well as co-market their complementary products.

ChIP-chip is a powerful tool that combines chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) with microarrays to understand DNA-protein interactions. The ChIP step deploys a specific antibody against a regulatory protein of interest, which results in the enrichment of DNA fragments bound to the target protein. Usually these enriched DNA fractions are at very low concentrations and need to be further amplified for detection. The technologies from Sigma-Aldrich and Roche NimbleGen facilitate effective ChIP-chip research by addressing two critical bottlenecks in the workflow: efficient amplification of targeted sections of DNA and high-resolution microarray detection. For researchers, GenomePlex is the preferred method to amplify targeted small (less than 200bp) DNA fragments in an efficient and unbiased manner. The amplified genome can then be analyzed on Roche NimbleGen's high density (up to 2.1 million probes per array), long oligonucleotide, ChIP-chip arrays, the most sensitive on the market, to examine the interactions between DNA and proteins such as transcription factors, histones and polymerases.

"The Sigma-Aldrich whole genome amplification technology is our method of choice for preparing ChIP samples for microarray analysis. The high reproducibility and effectiveness of GenomePlex for amplifying ChIP samples from a small number of cells, in combination with the outstanding sensitivity of the Roche NimbleGen high density microarrays, allows us to study chromatin patterns in small amounts of normal and cancer tissues," said Dr. Peggy Farnham, Professor of Pharmacology and Associate Director of Genomics at the University of California Davis.

Whole genome amplification provides advantages over other techniques researchers have relied on in the past. For example, ligation-mediated PCR, a commonly used technique for preparing DNA for ChIP analysis, often causes investigators to miss important binding sites. With the whole genome effectively amplified by GenomePlex, analysis on Roche NimbleGen high-density arrays can reveal rare protein-DNA interactions with a high signal to noise ratio and sensitivity.

For more information on the technologies, please visit Sigma-Aldrich at www.sigma-aldrich.com/wga or Roche NimbleGen at www.nimblegen.com/products/chip.

Sigma-Aldrich is a leading Life Science and High Technology company. Its biochemical and organic chemical products and kits are used in scientific research, including genomic and proteomic research, biotechnology, pharmaceutical development and as key components in pharmaceutical, diagnostic and other high technology manufacturing. The Company has customers in life science companies, university and government institutions, hospitals, and in industry. Over one million scientists and technologists use its products. Sigma-Aldrich operates in 37 countries and has 7,900 employees providing excellent service worldwide. Sigma-Aldrich is committed to Accelerating Customer Success through Innovation and Leadership in Life Science, High Technology and Service. For more information about Sigma-Aldrich, please visit its award-winning Web site at http://www.sigma-aldrich.com.

Roche NimbleGen is a leading innovator, manufacturer, and supplier of a proprietary suite of DNA microarrays, consumables, instruments and services. Roche NimbleGen produces high-density arrays of long oligonucleotide probes that provide greater information content and higher data quality necessary for studying the full diversity of genomic and epigenomic variation. The enhanced performance is made possible by Roche NimbleGen's proprietary Maskless Array Synthesis (MAS) technology, which uses digital light processing and rapid, high-yield photochemistry to synthesize long oligonucleotide, high-density DNA microarrays with extreme flexibility. For more information about Roche NimbleGen, please visit the company's website at www.nimblegen.com

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About Roche NimbleGen and Sigma-Aldrich
Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is a leader in research-focused healthcare with combined strengths in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. Roche is the world’s largest biotech company with truly differentiated medicines in oncology, virology, inflammation, metabolism and CNS. Roche is also the world leader in in-vitro diagnostics, tissue-based cancer diagnostics and a pioneer in diabetes management. Roche’s personalised healthcare strategy aims at providing medicines and diagnostic tools that enable tangible improvements in the health, quality of life and survival of patients.

In 2008, Roche had over 80,000 employees worldwide and invested almost 9 billion Swiss francs in R&D. The Group posted sales of 45.6 billion Swiss francs. Genentech, United States, is a wholly owned member of the Roche Group. Roche has a majority stake in Chugai Pharmaceutical, Japan.

All trademarks used or mentioned in this release are protected by law.
NIMBLEGEN is a trademark of Roche.
Other brands or product names are trademarks of their respective holders.

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Contacts:
Roche Diagnostics
Dr. Burkhard Ziebolz
Phone: +49 8856 604830
Email:
or
Roche NimbleGen
Kary Staples
Phone: +1 608 218 7623
Email:
or
Sigma-Aldrich
Sean Battles
Phone: +1 314 286 7616
Email: