c-Fos is an immediate early gene that when imaged in the brain serves as a marker for neural activation. Gubra specializes in whole brain c-Fos imaging using light sheet microscopy to image and quantify c-Fos expression across all brain regions. To learn more about c-Fos and how to apply spatial biology to your research, see our blog post.
Staining for c-Fos protein on sections is a well-established method that has been around for decades. However, due to the time-consuming process of sectioning researchers often target expected brain regions potentially missing out on novel activity areas. By using whole brain imaging you can unbiasedly assess c-Fos activation at the whole brain level. Gubra is seeking to accelerate research across biotech, pharma, and academia and provide insights into diverse research projects from drug discovery to response to environmental stimuli. To achieve this goal, we are introducing an ordering portal where any research group can design and order a c-Fos study in a streamlined service.
Our c-Fos web store provides any research group with access to savings with a standardized study design and price transparency. We hope that this shop increases accessibility and utility of whole brain c-Fos imaging.
How to use the c-Fos web store
1. Determine what research question you are looking to answer
Whether your study aim is to identify what neural regions in the brain are activated by your compound of interest, how a combination of therapies better activates a specific area of the brain, or how exposure to an environmental stimulus alters brain activity, any study whose end point has spatial c-Fos as a read out is possible.
2. Select your package
With options for basic, flexible, or premium packages Gubra can accommodate any study type. See our section below detailing each package option to determine which is best for you.
3. Select your add-ons
Our flexible package gives you access to premium features such as curated videos or meetings with our specialists upon data generation. These package add-ons allow for optimal customization of your study while minimizing additional costs.
4. Order your study
By providing us with an expected delivery date of your brain samples, you reserve a spot in our pipeline for your study to be executed rapidly.
5. Check your email
Your invoice and documents covering best practices for executing the in vivo portion of a c-Fos study and detailing how to prepare and ship your tissues to Gubra will be emailed to you.
6. Send your tissues to Gubra
Ship all your wanted brain samples to our laboratory.
7. Receive progress emails
You will be continuously updated when your tissues are received, processed, stained, imaged, and quantified, staying informed as your study progresses with our whole brain imaging team.
8. Analyze your data in GubraView
Your data will be computationally projected into our whole brain atlas, averaging across the group. The control brain will be compared to your experimental groups and the brain regions that have a significant change in c-Fos expression will be highlighted.
You will be able to visualize your data and immediately generate c-Fos density or z score plots for any brain region. You also have the option to import other c-Fos maps from Neuropedia to achieve additional insights into your expression profile by comparing to other known compounds.
How to select the best package for you
Gubra has created multiple package options to best address diverse study needs. Each package includes a control and experimental group with 8 brains per group, whole brain c-Fos staining and imaging, bioinformatic analysis, and access to GubraView. Here is a breakdown of each package:
Basic package
- The basic package is designed for a small pilot study comparing one experimental group to a control vehicle group.
- This package provides savings, streamlining the study design, while generating data that provides actionable insights into your therapy or environmental exposure.
- Your data will be delivered to you within 3 months on GubraView where you will be able to explore and interrogate your findings and download maps of regions of interest.
Flexible package
- The flexible package offers the ability to customize with an additional one to four experimental groups, allowing for evaluation of a series of concentrations of a compound or combinations of therapies.
- The flexible package has the extra benefit of add-on services to allow for full customization of your study. You can request consultations prior to or following your study to have a 1 on 1 discussion with one of our c-Fos specialists.
- You can request your samples to be returned to you for additional histological analysis at your facilities guided by the c-Fos expression patterns observed in your study.
- Other add-ons provide you the raw data files, fly through movies of your images for use in presentations, or a detailed study report. The flexibility of the package allows any research group to create the study that is best for them.
Premium package
- The premium package puts the work entirely into Gubra’s hands. This package allows you to have larger groups and more complicated study design without your group having to handle the complicated in vivo portion of your study.
- We will execute all parts of the study from the in vivo portion using either mice or rats through data analysis and report generation.
- This package provides you with a dedicated study director and a principal investigator that will curate your protocol and data analysis for your study’s needs, including any additional data analysis or additional biomarkers added to your imaging.
- We will provide you with a detailed data report highlighting study conclusions, as well as dynamic movies of your images, and impactful digital sections of averaged brains.
- We also can provide you with an IND report for assistance with moving your compound towards clinical trials.
Visit our c-Fos web store
Head to our c-Fos web store to order your study and reveal novel insights into your compound’s activation profile.
