QPS Neuropharmacology is the division of QPS that focuses on preclinical studies in CNS diseases, Orphan Diseases and Mental Disorders. The on-site availability of highly predictive disease models and unparalleled experience with studies performed for biopharmaceutical companies of all sizes makes QPS Neuropharmacology the first choice for most CNS drug development needs.
Validated transgenic and non-transgenic in vitro and in vivo models cover most targets of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), Parkinson’s Disease (PD), Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD), Niemann-Pick Disease, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Schizophrenia, Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) and other neurodegenerative diseases.
QPS is a global contract research organization (CRO) providing discovery, preclinical and clinical drug development services since 1995. Our mission is to accelerate pharmaceutical breakthroughs across the globe by delivering custom-built research services. An award-winning leader in the CRO industry, QPS is known for proven quality standards, technical expertise, a flexible approach to research, client satisfaction and turnkey laboratories and facilities.
QPS Neuropharmacology is a preclinical full-service contract research organization (CRO) focusing on CNS diseases, Orphan diseases and mental disorders.
The availability of highly predictive disease models and unparalleled experience with studies performed for biopharmaceutical companies of all sizes makes QPS the first choice for most needs in CNS drug development.
Validated transgenic and non-transgenic in vitro and in vivo models cover most targets of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), Parkinson’s Disease (PD), Huntington’s Disease (HD), Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD), Niemann-Pick Disease, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Schizophrenia, Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) and other neurodegenerative diseases.
Why choose us?
Customer satisfaction is our absolute priority
Your timeline is our timeline
Every study is custom-built
Scientific input to study design and data interpretation
Extensive experience with virtually all drug targets and treatment types
Wide range of validated models and techniques for comprehensive compound tests from a single source
AAALAC certification ensures highest quality standards
QPS NEURO NEWS
Inflammasome activation in organotypic brain slices
November 2019
Inflammasome activation in organotypic brain slices
LPS-stimulated organotypic hippocampal slices provide an optimal tool to investigate the impact of developmental compounds on inflammasome activation in vitro.
By maintaining the 3 dimensional structure and interplay of different cell types of the postnatal brain, this system comes closest to the in vivo situation while offering several advantages for early screenings:
- take supernatant samples anytime
- test new compounds without the challenge of BBB permeability
- semi high through-put
- Dexamethasone can serve as reference item
The activation of the inflammasome can be monitored by assessing NLRP3 expression within the slice tissue and e.g. IL-1β release in the supernatant as shown below:
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| Figure 1: Quantification of NLRP3 in mouse hippocampal slices after LPS stimulation for 24 h. A: NLRP3 quantification of LPS-stimulated organotypic brain slices by WES. B: NLRP3 area under the curve (AUC) values of LPS-stimulated organotypic brain slices as measured by WES. Aligned dot blot; Mean ± SEM; n = 3 – 4 per group. Dexamethasone (Dexa) served as reference item. One-way ANOVA with Dunnett’s Multiple Comparison post hoc test compared to LPS treated group; ***p<0.001. |
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Figure 2: IL-1ß release by mouse hippocampal slices after LPS stimulation for 24 h. Aligned dot blot; Mean ± SEM; n = 4 – 5 per group. Dexamethasone (Dexa) served as reference item. One-way ANOVA with Dunnett’s Multiple Comparison post hoc test compared to LPS treated group; ***p<0.001. |
In Vitro Services
QPS Austria’s Neuropharmacology Department provides research services with numerous standardized cell culture systems including transgenic and non-transgenic cell lines, glial cells, primary chicken and rat peripheral and central nervous system neurons of different developmental stages and organotypic brain slices. New models are developed and validated on request.
In Vivo Services
We have more than 15 years experience in generating, characterizing and maintaining transgenic disease models and using them for drug testing projects. Several customized behavioral tests, including motor, cognitive, and emotional assays, are offered to phenotype mouse and rat models and to evaluate effects of compounds in different in vivo models.
Ex Vivo Services
Our ex vivo services cover a full range of histological services, a biobank composed of various specimen derived from our in-house in vivo and in vitro models, and numerous well established tests for biomarkers. We are happy to test new protocols and establish new markers to meet your specific needs.
