Assay for Drug Screening in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Fleming researchers have developed an actin-based cellular assay for drug discovery in treating Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). The assay uses primary synovial fibroblasts (SF) isolated from the joints of proprietary arthritic transgenic mice overexpressing human TNF. The assay accurately quantifies the intracellular level of F-actin using fluorescencently-labelled phalloidin. Reduced F-actin levels following treatment with a candidate compound indicates possible therapeutic potential for RA. The assay is fast, easy to perform with very good signal-to-noise ratio and excellent reproducibility and has the potential to develop into a highthroughput assay for screening candidate drugs in treating RA. The novelty of the assay lies in the fact that it is performed using primary arthritic cells; this offers the benefit of screening for drugs in a complex system which preserves the biological complexity of the arthritic microenvironment.