Microglia & Astrocyte Activation Assay Service in ICANS

Accelerate ICANS Research with High-Fidelity Glial Activation Models

Immune effector cell–associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS), a severe neurotoxic complication associated with CAR-T therapy, is driven in part by cytokine-induced activation of CNS-resident microglia and astrocytes. Preclinical studies reveal that glial cells respond to systemic immune activation by releasing IL-1β, CXCL10, TNF-α, and other neuroinflammatory mediators, contributing to blood–brain barrier dysfunction and neuronal damage. Recreating this glial axis is essential for ICANS modeling and therapeutic screening.

Are you facing challenges in modeling neuroinflammation, capturing glial activation dynamics, or identifying immuno-neurotoxic signatures in cytokine release syndrome? Our microglia and astrocyte activation assay service in ICANS helps you unlock mechanistic insights and screen therapeutics for ICANS through advanced co-culture platforms, human iPSC-derived microglia, and multiplex cytokine/chemokine profiling.

Creative Biolabs provides specialized ICANS-relevant assay services that include:

• Mono- and co-culture microglia/astrocyte platforms
• Pro-inflammatory cytokine stimulation assays
• Gene editing (knockdown/knockout) for mechanistic studies
• Live-cell imaging of glial activation and interaction
• Custom assay design for compound screening, MoA elucidation, or cytokine evaluation

Whether you're developing ICANS therapeutics or validating CNS immune biomarkers, our service adapts to your project's biological and technical needs.

Strategies

To accurately mimic ICANS-relevant glial behavior, we leverage:

• Human iPSC-derived microglia and astrocytes that exhibit native-like responses to IFN-γ, IL-6, and TNF-α
• Tripartite neuron–astrocyte–microglia co-cultures to replicate CNS microenvironments
• Multiplex cytokine profiling platforms to measure neuroinflammatory cascades (IL-1β, IL-6, CXCL10, CCL2)
• Morphological and transcriptomic readouts including reactive gliosis markers (GFAP, Iba1, CX3CR1)
• CXCL10-driven chemotaxis assays simulating T cell recruitment seen in ICANS

These strategies create a powerful framework for dissecting mechanisms and evaluating therapeutic interventions in ICANS.

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Workflow

Required Starting Materials

• Name and concentration of immune effectors or cytokines of interest (e.g., IL-6 at 10 ng/mL)
• Preferred assay endpoints (e.g., CXCL10 release, morphological change, transcriptomic readout)
• Optional compound libraries or siRNA/shRNA targets for functional testing

Highlights

Flexible Co-Culture Assay Systems

Our tripartite co-culture assays (neuron–astrocyte–microglia) simulate the CNS microenvironment with high fidelity. Whether you're targeting astrocyte reactivity or microglia-mediated cytokine release, we tailor the model architecture to support your experimental goals, from monocultures to integrated multicellular assays.

Multiplexed Cytokine and Chemokine Profiling

Quantify a comprehensive panel of neuroinflammatory mediators including IL-1β, CXCL10, IL-6, CCL2, and TNF-α. Our Luminex and ELISA platforms provide high-sensitivity, reproducible measurements that support both biomarker discovery and efficacy comparisons of immunomodulatory agents.

Advanced Imaging and Morphological Readouts

Through immunocytochemistry and real-time imaging, we monitor glial morphology, activation status, and reactive gliosis. Analysis includes GFAP upregulation, microglial process retraction, and hypertrophic changes—key phenotypic indicators of ICANS pathogenesis.

Scientific Expertise and End-to-End Support

Our team of immunologists, neurobiologists, and assay designers collaborate with you from project planning to data delivery. Whether you're testing a CAR-T candidate, profiling CNS cytokine responses, or validating a biomarker, we ensure scientific rigor at every step.

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Publication

Microglia and astrocytes maintain essential crosstalk that regulates neuroregeneration and contributes to disease progression. In healthy states, their interaction supports synaptic remodeling, debris clearance, and neuronal survival. Under pathological conditions like ICANS, microglia-derived cytokines such as IL-1β and TNF-α trigger reactive astrogliosis, amplifying inflammation and neural damage. This bidirectional communication reveals critical mechanisms underlying glial-driven neurotoxicity and identifies potential intervention points for treating CNS immune-related disorders.

Fig.1 Microglia–astrocyte communication in neural repair and pathological conditions.¹

Customer Reviews

• "Robust Cytokine Modeling
  Using Creative Biolabs' microglia and astrocyte assay in our ICANS study significantly improved our understanding of CXCL10-mediated neuroinflammation." March 2025, Dr. L***y
• "Human-Relevant Models
  The human iPSC-derived glia responded accurately to our immune cocktail, giving us reliable insights for preclinical compound screening." May 2025, Dr. B***n
• "Efficient Customization
  We needed astrocyte reactivity measured alongside IL-1β induction—Creative Biolabs delivered fast, flexible service with detailed data." July 2025, Dr. J***a

FAQs

Extended Services

Creative Biolabs' Microglia and Astrocyte Activation Assay Service in ICANS enables precision modeling of neuroinflammatory responses associated with CAR-T therapy. Through human-relevant glial systems, cytokine profiling, and flexible assay designs, we help streamline your path to discovery and safety validation.

Reach out to our experts today to explore tailored solutions and discuss the next steps for your project in detail.

Reference

1. Sun, Meiqi, et al. "Microglia–astrocyte interaction in neural development and neural pathogenesis." Cells 12.15 (2023): 1942. DOI: 10.3390/cells12151942. Distributed under Open Access license CC BY 4.0, without modification.