First class science at competitve prices
Home| Products| Contract Research| Protocols| Learning Center| Contact| News & Press| About Hooke
Monument Interior

Recent News

2008 November 24 – PLP139-151/CFA Emulsion PTX Hooke Kit™

Hooke Kit™ PLP139-151/CFA Emulsion PTX, catalog number EK-0121, is now available for ordering.

This Hooke Kit™ is intended for induction of remitting/relapsing EAE in female SJL mice.

The first wave of EAE will develop 10 to 14 days after immunization in 90 to 100% of mice, with a mean maximum severity of approximately 3.5 (scale 0–5).

Relapse will start around 25 days after immunization. By 40 days after immunization, approximately 50% of mice will relapse. Mean maximum severity of relapses will be around 2 (scale 0–5).

Two 1 ml syringes of PLP139-151/CFA emulsion and one 1 ml syringe of pertussis toxin are included, sufficient for 10 mice. A detailed protocol and MSDS data are available online.


2008 October 6 – New Ovalbumin/CFA Emulsion Hooke Kit™

Immediately available is Hooke Kit™ Ovalbumin/CFA Emulsion, catalog number EK-0301, containing chicken ovalbumin (hen egg albumin – OVA) emulsified in Complete Freund’s Adjuvant.

This new Hooke Kit™ can be used to immunize mice (and other species) for evaluation of cellular immunity and antibody responses, as well as induction of delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH).

As with all Hooke Kits™, Ovalbumin/CFA Emulsion is delivered in pre-filled syringes, ready to use. Each EK-0301 kit contains enough emulsion for immunization of 5 to 20 mice, depending on dose.


2008 September 29 – Stronger MOG35-55/CFA emulsion Hooke Kits™

We are pleased to announce two new and stronger MOG35-55/CFA Emulsion PTX Hooke Kits™ for EAE induction, catalog numbers EK-0114 and EK-0115.

These kits are available immediately and contain MOG35-55 peptide emulsified in Complete Freund’s Adjuvant (CFA), with larger amounts of pertussis toxin (PTX) compared to our existing MOG35-55/CFA Emulsion PTX Hooke Kits™.

With these new products, Hooke offers a PTX dosage range of 1x to 5x, to accommodate a wider variety of mouse age, strain, breeder, and colony. Hooke Kits™ with higher doses of PTX will induce EAE of greater severity.

We recommend that new customers run 10 mice with our strongest Hooke Kit™ (EK-0115) and let us recommend the best Hooke Kit™ based on the results (EAE incidence and average severity).

Pertussis toxin enhances EAE development by providing additional adjuvant, compared to CFA alone. Injection of PTX affects cell trafficking, development of Th17 cells and integrity of the blood-brain barrier. In our experience, successful induction of EAE requires both good quality antigen emulsion and the appropriate amount of pertussis toxin.


2008 April 14 – Pre-Characterized Hooke Kits™ Eliminate Tedious Emulsion Preparation, Induce EAE and CIA

Monument Interior

Kits Accelerate Science by Saving Time In Testing, Ensuring Successful In Vivo Experiments

Hooke Laboratories, Inc. today announced the introduction of seven Hooke Kit™ products for immunization and induction of EAE and CIA in mice. For the first time, scientists studying autoimmune diseases such as arthritis and multiple sclerosis will no longer have to tediously prepare emulsions and test individual reagents before starting experiments.

The pre-characterized Hooke Kits™ introduced today are supplied in pre-filled syringes, ready to use. They ensure reliable and consistent disease induction, as each batch is extensively tested and individually adjusted for use with different sub-strains and ages of laboratory mice.

Properly prepared emulsions are critical for reliable induction of many autoimmune disease models, such as experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE, a mouse model of human multiple sclerosis) and collagen-induced arthritis (CIA, one of the most commonly used animal models of human rheumatoid arthritis). Hooke’s emulsions are pre-made and pre-tested to reduce the time needed to set up experiments.

Suzana Marusic, MD, PhD, President and Founder of Hooke Laboratories said “We’re really delighted with the consistent EAE and CIA induction rates we’ve been able to achieve with these kits. By choosing a Hooke Kit™ with potency adjusted for particular mouse sub-strains and ages, our customers can induce CIA in 100% of DBA/1 mice of either Taconic or Jackson origin – even in females, which is usually extremely difficult.”

The seven Hooke Kit™ products announced today are:

Hooke Kits™ MOG35-55/CFA Emulsion PTX for EAE Induction

Hooke Kits™ for Immunization

Hooke Kits™ for CIA Induction

Additional Hooke Kit™ products are in development, including Bovine Type II collagen emulsions for induction of CIA.

Full product details, including recommended experimental protocols and typical result data, are available on the company’s web site, http://hookelabs.com.

Hooke Laboratories offers innovations that make animal research more efficient and less expensive, with the goal of accelerating cures for human diseases while reducing and refining the use of animals. Hooke is working to be the leading company providing tools for in vivo research. The company was founded by immunologist Suzana Marusic, MD, PhD.