Institute of Bioinformatics (IOB) has invested Rs 1 crore to set-up a wet lab for research on cancer. The lab, a 1,000 sq. ft facility equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, is located within the premises of the Institute at the ITPL, Whitefield, in the outskirts of Bangalore.

"The wet lab will allow us to validate actual studies instead of doing only in-silico work. We will conduct the gene expression profiling for oesophagus cancer and later move on to pancreatic cancer studies. For the research, we will use micro array methodologies and raise the cancer cells which will be sought from biopsy samples," Dr. KS Deshpande, director, Institute of Bioinformatics, told Pharmabiz.

The institute is a non-profit organisation set-up by the 'The Genomics Research Trust' in collaboration with the University of Hopkins, Baltimore, US. So far, all its wet lab studies were conducted at Baltimore.

Giving details of the research, he stated that two groups of patients have to be identified for the oesophagus cancer programme. One set of oesophagus cancer patients comprises alcohol and tobacco consumers. The other set of oesophagus cancer patients are the non-alcoholic and non-smokers. The study will be conducted using the DNA micro array. The quantitative expression of those genes, up or down regulated using real time PCR, will be studied. It will also analyse the human protein interaction with genes.

The Institute, which focuses on Bioinformatics, Proteomics and molecular biology cancer and other diseases, has developed a vast Human Protein Reference Database (HPRD), which is freely available using open source technologies and to experimentally verify predicted human genes using molecular biology/proteomics based methods.

IOB has been recognised by SIRO (Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation) and the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR). At present 45 scientists (post doctorates, doctorates and postgraduates) are working at the Institute.

The primary objective of IOB is to complete the sequence of human genome using computational and experimental approaches to catalogue genes along with protein encoded by the human genome. It intends to educate scientists in India and abroad using genomic and Proteomics tools. Its achievements include analysis of human X chromosomes, human interactome, plasma proteome, Oncomine, TAGmapper, and Pathways.