TECHNOLOGY - MANTRA™ System

The MANTRA (Multiwell Automated NeuroTRansmission Assay) System is a proprietary functional screen developed by Galenea to screen for modulators of synaptic transmission.

• The only assay system of its type anywhere
• The system is high-throughput, employing live primary neurons to monitor compounds for their ability to modulate multiple phases of synaptic transmission, including detailed read-outs for synaptic vesicle release and uptake
• This approach does not rely on single targets, which often lack solid validation, but rather captures the complexity and multi-target disease biology that are a core feature of most neurological disorders
• Novel, pro-cognitive synaptic transmission signatures have already been identified
• The first major program using this system - for schizophrenia - is being funded by a highly competitive $4.5M NIH RC4 challenge grant, awarded in 2010
• There are drug discovery opportunities in multiple indications

 

In Sanskrit the word "mantra" means "instrument of thought"

This figure shows fluorescent signals generated by repeated electrical stimulation of neurons in a single well in the MANTRA System. The first peak corresponds to a clearing pulse stimulation train utilized to establish the baseline. The following peaks correspond to stimulation trains at frequencies of 5 Hz, 10 Hz, and 50 Hz. The increase in fluorescence provides a read-out for exocytosis of synaptic vesicles as the neurons are stimulated.

This figure shows data from an actual screening plate in the MANTRA System. The neurons in each well in the screening plate are subjected to a clearing pulse electrical stimulation followed by stimulation trains at 5 Hz, 10 Hz, and 50 Hz. The graphs correspond to fluorescent signals from a reporter expressed in each neuron. Galenea analyzes these data to measure effects on multiple parameters of synaptic vesicle cycling, including exocytosis and endocytosis rates.