Neurofit SAS

Acute Inflammation Animal model - Carrageeenan Air pouch model The Carrageenan Air pouch model is a highly reproducible animal model designed for the effective screening of potential anti-inflammatory compounds. The air pouch is developed simply by a subcutaneous injection of sterile air into the intra-scapular area on the back of a mouse. The injection of a carrageenan solution into the pouch produces an inflammatory response that is characterized by the infiltration of cells, an increase in exudate and a marked production of pro-inflammatory mediators.  Endpoints: ☐ Exudat volume ☐ Leukocyte count ☐ Cell count

Inflammation Animal models:

• LPS Induced Inflammation
  Inflammation is produced in mice by a single administration of a non-septic dose of LPS.
  The model has proved to be useful in demonstrating the clinical effect of drugs or compounds of different mechanisms.

• Carrageeenan Air pouch model
  The Carrageenan Air pouch model is a highly reproducible animal model designed for the effective screening of potential anti-inflammatory compounds.
  The air pouch is developed simply by a subcutaneous injection of sterile air into the intra-scapular area on the back of a mouse. The injection of a carrageenan solution into the pouch produces an inflammatory response that is characterized by the infiltration of cells, an increase in exudate and a marked production of pro-inflammatory mediators.

Measurement of electrophysiological parameters such as SNCV (sensory nerve conduction velocity) and CMAP (compound muscle action potential) are useful tools to assess the neuromuscular junction function. Used in combination with fiber morphometry measurement, these measurements can bring you a complete overview of the neuroprotective and neuro-regenerative effect of your compounds.  Endpoints for these models are: - CMAP time course - SNCV : Conduction velocity time course - g-ratio - Axon size distribution profile

We provide to our customers our in depth know-how in the evaluation of treatment for neurodegenerative diseases and neurological disorders. Our goal is to assist you in the choice of the most accurate tools following your needs and to provide you a fast and reliable answer to allow you to move forward in your projects. We provide animal models in the following fields: - Adhd - Allergic Contact Dermatitis - Alzheimer's Disease - ALS - Anxiety - Depression - Epilepsy - Inflammation - Multiple sclerosis - Neuropathic Pain - Parkinson's Disease - Peripheral Neuropathies - Rheumatoid Arthritis - Schizophrenia - Side effects 

We provide to our customers our in depth know-how in the evaluation of treatment for neurodegenerative diseases and neurological disorders. Our goal is to assist you in the choice of the most accurate tools following your needs and to provide you a fast and reliable answer to allow you to move forward in your projects. We provide animal models in the following fields: - Adhd - Allergic Contact Dermatitis - Alzheimer's Disease - ALS - Anxiety - Depression - Epilepsy - Inflammation - Multiple sclerosis - Neuropathic Pain - Parkinson's Disease - Peripheral Neuropathies - Rheumatoid Arthritis - Schizophrenia - Side effects 

NEUROFIT offers Human iPSC Neurons-based screening to evaluate the capability of test compound to promote dendrite formation and growth. - iPSC dervied neurons (neurite growth): A fully automated analysis of neuritogenesis in 96 well plate of primary neuron cultures, which enables the quantification of : - Neurite total count - Neurite total length - Dendrite branching 

Oligodendrocyte Precursor Cells Proliferation: OPC cultures are obtained from cortex of rat pups. Test compounds are added just after cellular adhesion. Proliferation is assayed by an MTT test in 96-multi well plates after 3 days. Endpoints: OPCP survival / proliferation 

Compound testing addresses the ability of test compounds to inhibit MPP+ or 6-OHDA - induced cell damage in mesencephalic neuron cultures as assessed by immunostainting of tyrosine hydroxylase neurons.

• Amyloid-beta intoxication: Compound testing addresses the ability of test compounds to inhibit Aβ (1-40) - induced cell damage in hippocampal neuron cultures.

• Basal Amyloid-beta production: The system is tailored to assess the efficiency of Aβ lowering drugs such as BACE inhibitors. In parallel, the assay also provides information about the potential safety or neurotoxicity of the tested drug.

• Cortical nerons (neurite growth): The measuring of neuritogenesis, including neurite outgrowth, is instrumental for the screening of the neuromodulatory, neuroprotective, neuroregenerative and neurotoxic effects of the compounds.

• iPSC dervied neurons (neurite growth): A fully automated analysis of neuritogenesis in 96 well plate of primary neuron cultures, which enables the quantification of :
  Neurite total count
  Neurite total length
  Dendrite branching

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease characterised by upper and lower motor neuron death with an ascending paralysis that eventually leads to death. The role of excitotoxicity is now recognised as an important factor in the ALS physiopathology. Neurofit provides three cellular models for ALS: • Glutamate and NMDA : allows us to evaluate the compounds neuroprotective effects by adding them to the culture medium either before (protective) or after (restorative) the application of glutamate or NMDA.  • Rat spinal motor neuron - Human Muscle coculture : allows us to observe motor neuron-dependent myocontraction and thus evaluate the ability of compounds to improve the nerve muscle coupling.  • Spinal motor neurons : allows us to measure the effect of compounds on neurite outgrowth.

Compound testing In vitro

Neuroinflammation is now recognized as a critical process in different neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, stroke, multiple sclerosis...
Astrocytes and microglia are key players in neuroinflammation since they release wide variety of proinflammatory mediators, including nitric oxide, cytokines and chemokines.

Compound testing addresses the ability of test compounds to inhibit the effect of LPS on production of neuroinflammatory factors such as nitric oxide (NO) and cytokines and on neuronal death.
Endpoints:
☐ NO release
☐ Release of proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α and IL-1β)
☐ Neuronal death

• Pristane
• Collagen

• MK-801
• Phencyclidine
• D-Amphetamine

• Formalin
• Acute pain

- Relapsing/Remitting EAE model: Relapsing/Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RR-MS) is the most frequent form of Multiple Sclerosis. Neurofit offers a disease model for MS in the rat that mimics the remittance and disease relapse as in MS patients. Thus, this model is useful to evaluate the effect of compounds on the disease relapse. For more info please see the following link: http://www.neurofit.com/tech-anim-rreae.html - Myelin Basic Protein EAE model: EAE is a commonly used animal model which shares some degree of similarities with human multiple sclerosis (MS). EAE is induced by CNS antigens such myelin basic protein (MBP) which activates autoreactive T-cells responsible for CNS inflammation and demyelination. 

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common age-related neurodegenerative disorder, characterized by the progressive degeneration of neuronal populations and the simultaneous loss of memory and cognitive functions. Neurofit has several animal models (some examples below): - Scopolamine induced memory deficit model : Scopolamine, a muscarinic receptor antagonist is widely used to induce cognitive / memory impairment in clinical research (human volunteers) and in experimental animals. - Aged mice model: Among all the models which focus on one aspect of the disease, the Aged mice model is probably the most representative of the human disease. In that sense, it is one of the most powerful models to test multiple pathways therapeutics. 

- 6-OHDA animal model: Elevation in the amount of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) has been reported in the urine of L-DOPA - treated Parkinson’s disease patients. Unilateral injection of 6-OHDA in the rat brain produces lesion and depletion of striatal dopamine along with significant gait disturbance similar to those of PD patients.  - Haldol (Catalepsy) model: Catalepsy is a well-known symptom of Parkinson's disease. It is characterized by muscle rigidity and fixity of posture for a prolonged period of time (akinesia).

Pathological process by which nerve cells are damaged or killed by excessive stimulation by neurotransmitters such as glutamate and similar substances. This occurs when receptors for the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate such as the NMDA receptor are overactivated.

• Excitotoxicity on cortical neurons

Neurofit can evaluate the neuroprotective or neurotrophic effect of your compounds dedicated to the prevention or cure of spinal cord injuries.

• Neurite outgrowth
• Nerve / Muscle co-culture

Today, growing interest has shifted to the reactivation of a juvenile-like plasticity in the brain for the treatment of depression. To be in line with this development concept, NEUROFIT proposes neuronal neurite outgrowth assay to demonstrate the effect of your antidepressant compounds.

• Cortical neurons : neurite outgrowth
• iPSC-derived neurons : neurite outgrowth

One of the strategies mostly used by pharmaceutical industries to prevent or repair neurodegeneration is based on the development of neuroprotectant or neurotrophic compounds. NEUROFIT implements different cellular models to assess the efficacy of these classes of compounds.

• Neurite outgrowth
• Survival and Viability
• Basal Amyloid β production

Sensorimotor deficit is observed under various diseases that affect the nervous system.

• NERVE FUNCTION : SNCV
• NEUROMUSCULAR FUNCTION : CMAP

Study of the microscopic organization and structure of a tissue (as skin, nerve) by computer-assisted analysis of images formed by a microscope

• IENF
• MYELIN THICKNESS : g-ratio
• AXON CALIBER / DISTRIBUTION

Preclinical investigations of the toxicity of a compound represent a crucial step in the drug development process before eventual administration in humans. NEUROFIT has received ethics approval to conduct these studies.

Sensori-motor deficits are implied in a wide range of CNS and PNS diseases. NEUROFIT proposes different tests to study the influence of your compounds in sensori-motor deficit.

• Open-Field
• Rotarod
• DWB
• Beam Walking
• Cylinder test
• Wire-hanging

NEUROFIT implements different models and tests to evaluate compounds acting on different types of pain. Feel free to contact our experts to discuss about the most relevant test you could apply for your studies. - Hot Plate - DWB - Paw Pressure - Tail-Flick

Peripheral neuropathy is the result of damages of the peripheral nervous system. Similar to the clinical peripheral neuropathy in man, the degeneration of intra-epidermal nerve fibers (IENF) can be monitored and quantified in various animal models of peripheral neuropathy. NEUROFIT offers on fee-for-service basis the quantification IENF in rat skin biopsies as a robust and cost-effective assay to evaluate: - the peripheral neuropathy as a result of a potential side-effect of a drug treatment (safety profiling of drug candidates) - the neuroprotective effect of drug therapy as a treatment for peripheral neuropathy (preclinical efficacy testing) Endpoints: IENF density

NEUROFIT provides different tests to evaluate the efficacy of your compounds. As each test implying anxiety and depression assessment is specific, we attach a great importance to the prior discussion to propose you the most relevant solution to answer to your question.

• Marble Burying
• Forced Swimming test
• Elevated Plus Maze
• Light-Dark test

We provide to our customers our in depth know-how in the evaluation of treatment for neurodegenerative diseases and neurological disorders.
Our goal is to assist you in the choice of the most accurate tools following your needs and to provide you a fast and reliable answer to allow you to move forward in your projects.
We provide animal models in the following fields:

• Adhd
• Allergic Contact Dermatitis
• Alzheimer's Disease
• ALS
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Epilepsy
• Inflammation
• Multiple sclerosis
• Neuropathic Pain
• Parkinson's Disease
• Peripheral Neuropathies
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Schizophrenia
• Side effects

CNS/Neurology Animal Models Services
We provide to our customers our in depth know-how in the evaluation of treatment for neurodegenerative diseases and neurological disorders.
Our goal is to assist you in the choice of the most accurate tools following your needs and to provide you a fast and reliable answer to allow you to move forward in your projects.
We provide animal models in the following fields:

• Adhd
• Allergic Contact Dermatitis
• Alzheimer's Disease
• ALS
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Epilepsy
• Inflammation
• Multiple sclerosis
• Neuropathic Pain
• Parkinson's Disease
• Peripheral Neuropathies
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Schizophrenia
• Side effects

Functional & Cell Type Specific Assays Services

Cell-Based Assays Services:
We provide a large range of models and assays for evaluating neurotoxicity, neuroprotection or neurotrophic activity of new test compounds. We can perform custom protocols to determine mechanism of action, or define therapeutic indication of new drug candidates.

• COGNITION
• DEPRESSION
• SPINAL CORD INJURY
• NEURO-INFLAMMATION
• EXCITOTOXICITY

In vitro Toxicity Testing Services

We provide to our customers our in depth know-how in the evaluation of treatment for neurodegenerative diseases and neurological disorders.
Our goal is to assist you in the choice of the most accurate tools following your needs and to provide you a fast and reliable answer to allow you to move forward in your projects.
We provide animal models in the following fields:

• Adhd
• Allergic Contact Dermatitis
• Alzheimer's Disease
• ALS
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Epilepsy
• Inflammation
• Multiple sclerosis
• Neuropathic Pain
• Parkinson's Disease
• Peripheral Neuropathies
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Schizophrenia
• Side effects

In vivo Toxicity Testing Services:
Each step in the protocol uses three animals. The absence or presence of compound-related mortality of animals dosed at one step determines the next step. Lethal exposure ranges are rapidly established and an estimation of an LD50 value can be made when at least two doses result in mortality > 0 % and < 100 %.
This model facilitates rapid ranking of compounds within a series, or across series, by their toxicity and provides an informed guide to choosing doses for IND-enabling studies.

Pharmacology & Toxicology Services

Toxicology Services

We provide to our customers our in depth know-how in the evaluation of treatment for neurodegenerative diseases and neurological disorders.
Our goal is to assist you in the choice of the most accurate tools following your needs and to provide you a fast and reliable answer to allow you to move forward in your projects and drug discovery and development.
We provide animal and cellular models in the following fields:

• Adhd
• Allergic Contact Dermatitis
• Alzheimer's Disease
• ALS
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Epilepsy
• Inflammation
• Multiple sclerosis
• Neuropathic Pain
• Parkinson's Disease
• Peripheral Neuropathies
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Schizophrenia
• Side effects

NEUROFIT offers several cognition and behavioral test to assess the efficacy of your compounds. All our tests are run routinely by our experts who are also available to provide you advice in the design of your experiment. Our goal is to provide you the most relevant data following your needs. Please see below a list of the some of the tests we provide:

• T-Maze
• Passive Avoidance
• Novel Object Recognition
• Marble Burying
• Elevated Plus Maze
• Forced Swim Test
• Light Dark Test

NEUROFIT offers several cognition and behavioral test to assess the efficacy of your compounds. All our tests are run routinely by our experts who are also available to provide you advice in the design of your experiment. Our goal is to provide you the most relevant data following your needs. Please see below a list of the some of the tests we provide:

• T-Maze
• Passive Avoidance
• Novel Object Recognition
• Marble Burying
• Elevated Plus Maze
• Forced Swim Test
• Light Dark Test

NEUROFIT offers several cognition and behavioral test to assess the efficacy of your compounds. All our tests are run routinely by our experts who are also available to provide you advice in the design of your experiment. Our goal is to provide you the most relevant data following your needs. Please see below a list of the some of the tests we provide:

• T-Maze
• Passive Avoidance
• Novel Object Recognition
• Marble Burying
• Elevated Plus Maze
• Forced Swim Test
• Light Dark Test