ZenBio Licenses an Important Cell Line from Harvard to Drive Metabolic Disease Research

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ZenBio announce that they will be a commercial source for the popular murine 3T3-L1 cell line, which has been fundamental in metabolic disease research for 30 years. Originally derived from Swiss mouse embryo tissue by Dr. Howard Green of the Department of Cell Biology at Harvard Medical School, the 3T3-L1 system has been pivotal in advancing the understanding of basic cellular mechanisms associated with diabetes, obesity and other related disorders.

“Metabolic disease research has the potential to provide solutions to widespread, serious health problems, and we are committed to continuing to lead in offering cell-based solutions for researchers.”

3T3-L1 is a cell line derived from 3T3 cells that is used extensively in research on adipose tissue, making the line popular for metabolic disease research studies. 3T3-L1 cells have a morphology that resembles fibroblasts, but under the right conditions the cells will differentiate into a phenotype that mimics the behavior of adipocytes. The 3T3-L1 in vitro system has proven a highly useful complement to primary human adipocyte cultures, and has been used extensively by scientists to unlock many of the mysteries of metabolic diseases. The 3T3-L1 cell line is recognized as a very well-characterized, consistent in vitro system, and has served as the basis for a wide range of published studies.

ZenBio will offer low passage cryopreserved and cultured forms of 3T3-L1 cells with optimized media formulations to enhance growth and survival rates in culture. In addition, ZenBio will offer contract research services tailored to the 3T3-L1 in vitro system. Capabilities will include assay development, compound screening, conditioned media delivery, gene expression profiling and further 3T3-L1 characterization. ZenBio will also offer optimized metabolic research kits to measure various outputs from 3T3-L1 assays, including insulin-stimulated glucose uptake, lipolysis and triglyceride accumulation.

In order to make it easier for its HTS/HCA partners to incorporate 3T3-L1 cells into their screening programs, ZenBio will also offer large-scale, pre-plated cell cultures for use in automated screening projects on a custom basis. A variety of SBS-approved plate formats and flask cultures will be available.

“The 3T3-L1 cell line is an excellent addition to our portfolio of human primary cell products and assays,” says Peter Pieraccini, President of ZenBio. “Metabolic disease research has the potential to provide solutions to widespread, serious health problems, and we are committed to continuing to lead in offering cell-based solutions for researchers.”

About ZenBio, Inc.

ZenBio, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company, is a leading provider of research tools for the study of human metabolic disease. Founded in 1995, the company performs contract research for major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies around the world. ZenBio pioneered tissue engineering with adult adipose-derived stem cells and is currently investigating the role obesity plays in the development and onset of metabolic disease. Its mission is to provide the highest quality cells, reagents and contract services to the biomedical research community; to develop and commercialize research tools; and to leverage its expertise in this field as a contract research organization.