ChemoGenix is a CRISPR-licensed
(ERS Genomics)
academic service platform dedicated to leveraging CRISPR technology to
decode genetic signatures of bioactive compounds. We are part of the Institute for Research in
Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) at the Université de Montréal (UdeM).
Chemical genomics or chemogenomics is a powerful approach to study the response of cells to chemical perturbations. More specifically, genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 knockout screens in human cells can systematically identify all genes that when deleted either suppress or enhance compound effects on cell proliferation. The resulting chemogenomic signature can directly establish mechanisms-of-action of the compound, uncover off-target effects and reveal new gene functions. Ultimately, this information facilitates the selection of new compounds as promising drug candidates and permits the unveiling of the genetics of cell-drug interactions.
We primarily establish genetic vulnerabilities and resistance to bioactive compounds. We have streamlined the analysis of compounds inhibiting cell proliferation with genome-wide pooled KO screens in the pre-B lymphocytic human cell line NALM6.
We can support any academic lab interested in screening in different cell lines or with different experimental setups (proliferation, FACS sorting, with or without drugs…).
We can also reveal gene functions through double KO genetic screens single as gene-of interest KO vs genome-wide KO.
Currently our services are available only to academia and other non-profit institutions. We charge very low fees to cover the platform operating expenses with the expectation to publicly release the data 3 years after the delivery of the screen results, with the long term goal to create a large public repository of chemogenetic data to support the biomedical community.
We are actively engaged in efforts to extend our services to for-profit organizations in the near future.