In Vitro Modeling of Stroke

In vitro models offer tremendous opportunities to model stroke and improve drug discovery pipelines by allowing specific underlying biochemical and molecular mechanisms to be studied under ischemia-like conditions of energy deficiency. At Ace Therapeutics, we are committed to developing customized in vitro models of stroke to enhance the translational capabilities of your drug discovery and development programs.

The Importance of In Vitro Stroke Models

Due to the availability of transgenic strains, rodents are often chosen to construct in vivo stroke models. However, due to the 80 million years of evolution separating rodents and humans, there are species-specific anatomical, cellular, and molecular differences between humans and rodents that may affect the outcome of neuroprotective strategies. In vitro stroke models are used to study specific molecular pathways that occur in stroke pathology. These models have many advantages, they are reproducible, easy to produce and maintain, and cost-effective. In addition, in vitro systems, especially human in vitro systems, can provide very valuable information about drug safety, while also allowing for cost-effective high-throughput screening assays.

Fig. 1. Culture of brain cells for 2D and 3D in vitro models. (Amado et al., 2022)

Custom In Vitro Stroke Models

Ace Therapeutics offers comprehensive in vitro stroke modeling services to meet our customer needs. Our laboratory has a full of in vitro facility equipped with cell culture, microscopy, cell isolation systems, flow cytometry analysis, and a variety of assays to assess drug response.

In Vitro Modeling of Ischemic Stroke

Based on innovative cellular technologies and genetic and molecular manipulation platforms, Ace Therapeutics provides customizable, simplified, and highly controlled ischemic stroke in vitro model platforms. We can help you study ischemic stroke in vitro by implementing ischemia-like conditions through the hypoxia-glucose deprivation (OGD) method. After oxygen-glucose deprivation, we can perform several studies to analyze the different stages of the cell death process and the possible recovery of damaged neurons.

Ace Therapeutics is committed to developing 3D in vitro models of ischemic stroke to better reproduce the brain environment, helping you to achieve high-throughput screening and improve your chances of finding new and successful therapies.

In Vitro Modeling Hemorrhagic Stroke

Ace Therapeutics provides reliable in vitro models of hemorrhagic stroke for rapid and effective drug screening. We construct in vitro models of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) through a variety of methods, including hemoglobin, heme, autologous blood intracerebral injection, hydrogen peroxide, and glutamate. We also provide in vitro phenotypic assays including analysis of different parameters associated with cellular damage.

Cellular Platforms Available for Stroke Models

Whatever your project requires, we have the in vitro biology platforms to support faster and better decision making for your stroke drug discovery program. Our team of experts has extensive experience working with companies to support in vitro pharmacological characterization of lead compounds and are committed to saving you valuable time and resources by providing efficient screening platforms and validated 2D and 3D models that give you confidence in your data.

• Organotypic brain slice cultures
• Immortalized cell lines
• Primary cells
• Embryonic stem cell (ESC)-derived neurons
• Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived neurons, astrocytes, oligodendrocytes and microglia
• Neural organoids

Advantages of In Vitro Stroke Model

• Can be used to study specific cell types or tissues
• Can be performed in a more controlled and standardized environment, which reduces variability in results
• Suited for drug discovery and development, where a large number of compounds need to be screened for efficacy and safety
• Can be used to study the mechanism of action of drugs, which can provide valuable insights into the development of new therapies

With multiple reliable in vitro models, choosing Ace Therapeutics as your preclinical stroke CRO will accelerate your drug screening process. Need more? Contact us about custom model development. We are constantly developing new models and would be happy to develop one for you to study.

1. Amado, B., et al. (2022). Ischemic Stroke, Lessons from the past towards effective preclinical models. Biomedicines, 10(10), 2561.