STEVENSON, Wash., Nov. 1, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Total Nutraceutical Solutions, Inc. (TNS) (OTCBB:TNUS.OB) announced today that it has entered into a strategic relationship with LifeSpan Biosciences, Inc. to utilize LifeSpan's industry leading Immunohistochemistry (IHC) technology platform and target validation expertise within the food sciences market. IHC is a process that detects the presence of specific antigens (e.g., proteins) in cells and is widely used in basic research to understand the distribution and localization of biomarkers and differentially expressed proteins in normal and diseased tissue samples. IHC has been used in drug discovery for years and LifeSpan counts all of the top 30 pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies as its customers. The strategic relationship with TNS is expected to expand LifeSpan's reach into the rapidly growing market for functional food and food supplementation.
TNS first approached LifeSpan to perform a study involving TNS's proprietary Ergothioneine Transporter (ETT; human gene symbol SLC22A4) which it acquired from the University of Cologne in 2010. Ergothioneine (ET) is a highly stable and unique natural antioxidant which mammals cannot manufacture but must acquire exclusively from food. The existence in mammals of a specific transporter for ET implies an essential role for ET. However, the precise physiological purpose of ET and the consequences of ET deficiency are still unclear. Research suggests an association with a number of chronic inflammatory diseases such as Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and Type I diabetes. TNS believes ET additionally plays an important role in reproductive health, stem cell preservation, and neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. In August, TNS announced a study with Massachusetts General Hospital to assess the efficacy of TNS's proprietary ERGO-D2™ food supplement, which contains ET, as a potential dietary therapy or palliative therapy for Parkinson's disease patients.
"This new study could dramatically expand our understanding of Ergothioneine and its physiologic role in multiple organs and disease states," said Dr. Dirk Gründemann, Ph.D., Department of Pharmacology at the University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany and leader of the team that discovered the ET Transporter. "Our work with semen samples and other tissues of several animals suggests that the general function of ET may be related to the prevention of lipid peroxidation. The TNS/LifeSpan cooperative study in human tissues could provide important additional scientific evidence supporting this theory." Lipid peroxidation is a process where free radicals "steal" electrons from the lipids in our cell membranes, resulting in cell damage and increased production of more free radicals with further cell damage. Evidence is accumulating that most of the degenerative diseases that afflict humanity have their origin in deleterious free radical reactions. The process of biological ageing might also have a free radical basis and there is a growing consensus that antioxidant supplementation of our diet is needed to ensure a more healthy elderly population.
"The TNS/Lifespan strategic partnership positions our company as a leader in the rapidly emerging scientific field of Nutrigenomics," stated Marvin S. Hausman MD, Chief Executive Officer of Total Nutraceutical Solutions, Inc. "Nutrigenomics is the study of the effects of foods and food constituents on gene expression with resultant personalized nutrition and the potential control of chronic debilitating diseases. TNS has the ability, through this partnership, to specifically study the levels of the ET Transporter in human tissues and organs, and potentially modify chronic inflammatory diseases, such as diabetes, arthritis, Crohn's disease, Alzheimer's' disease and even early aging."
About the Ergothioneine Transporter Study
The study with LifeSpan will identify an antibody that can be used in IHC to determine where the ET Transporter is over and under expressed in a wide variety of normal and diseased human tissue samples. LifeSpan has one of the world's largest private collections of paraffin-embedded human tissues which it uses to conduct its IHC studies. From this portfolio of over 2 million samples, LifeSpan will look for the ET Transporter in (i) normal adrenal, bladder, brain cortex, breast, colon, heart, kidney cortex, kidney medulla, liver, lung, ovary, pancreas, placenta, prostate, skeletal muscle, skin, small intestine, spleen, stomach, testis, thymus, thyroid tonsil, and uterus samples and then (ii) samples of Adipose (visceral fat, Obesity, BMI>30), Brain (Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, cancer, and stroke), Colon (Ulcerative colitis, cancer), Lymph node (Hodgkin's and Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma), Nasal turbinates (Allergic rhinitis), Pancreas (diabetes, cancer), Pannus (Rheumatoid arthritis), Skin (Psoriasis, cancer), Small Intestine (Crohn's disease), Breast (cancer), Ovary (cancer), Prostate (cancer), and Lung (cancer). Semen, bone marrow, and other tissues may also be evaluated.
"In our 15-year history of delivering IHC services and antibodies for use in IHC, we have conducted thousands of target validation studies for the drug industry," said Dr. Glenna Burmer, MD, Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of LifeSpan Biosciences, Inc. "This target validation study is one of the most interesting we have undertaken, with a little known natural compound that could have some surprising disease associations, and we look forward to working with TNS on this and other significant food science opportunities in the coming months."
About LifeSpan Biosciences, Inc.
LifeSpan BioSciences, Inc. is a world leader in providing reagents and services for proteomics and pathology. LifeSpan's catalogue of 93,000 antibodies are used for research applications including immunoblotting, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, and fluorescence-activated cell sorting. LifeSpan also provides comprehensive services, including antibody synthesis, peptide design, antibody purification, immunohistochemistry and pathology interpretation, to assist customers in their research, diagnostics and drug development needs.
For more information visit www.lsbio.com.
About Total Nutraceutical Solutions, Inc.
TNS is a global leader in whole food biotechnology that identifies, scientifically validates, and commercializes solutions that address multi-billion dollar markets for organic health, beauty and agriculture. The company's growing portfolio of intellectual property includes extraction, enhancement, and uses for some of the most powerful antioxidants and bionutrients occurring in nature.
The Total Nutraceutical Solutions, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=8060
Any statements contained in this press release that relate to future plans, events or performance are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the risks associated with the transaction described in this press release, and other risks identified in the filings by Total Nutraceutical Solutions (TNS), Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Further information on risks faced by TNS are detailed in the Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 and in its subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. These filings are or will become available on a website maintained by the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov/" target="_top" rel="nofollow">http://www.sec.gov. The information contained in this press release is accurate as of the date indicated. Actual results, events or performance may differ materially. TNS does not undertake any obligation to publicly release the result of any revision to these forward- looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.