Technology Platform

KromaTiD takes sides to fight human disease

Chromosome painting is a technology that has been used for years and proven very valuable for discovery and diagnosis of common chromosome alterations, such as those that occur in human disease, particularly cancer, as well as other conditions including infertility.  Chromosomes are microscopically visible structures found in the nucleus of cells, which are made up of a person’s DNA.  There are two copies of each chromosome and when cells divide, a new copy of each is created and passed on to each daughter cell.  The DNA is condensed many times into characteristic, species-specific, size and shape of chromosomes, each of which consists of two identical “sides” called chromatids.  Traditional chromosome paints cover both sides of a chromosome, while a chromatid paint covers only one side.

Chromosome rearrangements have been associated with a variety of disease processes including cancer, as well as a number of genetic abnormalities that underlie neurological and developmental disorders including autism, and can also result from exposure to external agents like ionizing radiation.  KromaTiD’s proprietary chromatid painting technology opens the door to discovery and to diagnosis of new alterations, particularly those involving rearrangements within chromosomes referred to as inversions, which up until now have been extremely difficult, or impossible, to detect.  An inversion is simply a broken piece of DNA that flips around before rejoining back into the chromosome.  Using KromaTiD’s platform technology, an inversion will appear as a fluorescent spot that jumps from one side (one chromatid) to the other, providing an easily identifiable “signature” of the rearrangement.