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Abscription® Abscription (Abortive Transcription) is an extremely robust isothermal signal amplification reaction that can be used alone for detection of protein and nucleic acid biomarkers or coupled to target amplification systems, such as the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) or Loop Mediated Amplification (LAMP). These coupled systems allow the detection of RNA and DNA targets, as well as DNA modifications, with speed and sensitivity orders of magnitude better than PCR or LAMP alone. Coupled LAMP-Abscription allows detection of 10 copies of salmonella in a homogeneous, isothermal reaction in less than 15 min. Abscription involves the reiterative synthesis of short RNA Abscripts® (abortive transcripts), which are produced by the Abscriptase® RNA polymerase, to rapidly generate thousands of detectable and quantifiable abscripts per target molecule per minute. Abscripts are generated from an artificially created start site for Abscription, called an Abortive Promoter Cassette (APC). APCs can be linked to targeted molecules for detection. Each APC encodes a different abscript, therefore very high multiplexing can be achieved by attaching a different APC to each biomarker target in a sample. Abscription can be used for the detection of DNA, RNA, protein, Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) and CpG methylation. The technology is ideally suited for MultiVariate BioMarker Analysis, the detection of multiple different types of targets in a single sample and offers the flexibility to use different types of detection instrumentation to obtain test results, including mass spectrometry, capillary electrophoresis and real time fluorescence. Current products include those that are suited for use in basic research laboratories, clinical and pharmaceutical testing services, in vitro diagnostic companies and for automated high throughput screening. Epigenetics: Ribomed’s has applied its abscription technology to the detection of epigenetic biomarkers. DNA contains regions called genes which encode messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules that serve as templates for the synthesis of proteins. Cancer and other diseases arise when there are genetic changes in genes, such as mutations or deletions. They also arise as a result of epigenetic changes. These are changes that occur to alter the level of the mRNA or protein produced from a gene without altering its sequence of bases. Although cancer was once believed to be caused exclusively by genetic changes, particularly DNA mutations, recent bodies of research now suggest that many cancers are actually caused by epigenetic changes. Two types of epigenetic changes are: 1.Methylation-driven changes in gene expression and mRNA production by the addition or removal of methyl groups to cytosine (C) in regulatory DNA regions called CpG islands. 2.Changes in protein production from mRNA by interaction with interfering Micro-RNA (mi-RNA). Methyl molecules attached to certain regulatory regions of the DNA determine whether or not a gene is turned on or “expressed”. Increased methylation of a DNA sequence is usually associated with gene silencing. Decreased methylation can reactivate genes that should be silent. The control of gene expression by methylation plays a critical role in maintaining normal cell function by turning genes on and off at the appropriate times. Too much methylation or too little methylation can cause disease, including cancer and diseases of aging. Ribomed’s first epigenetic tests are for the rapid analysis of CpG islands.