Category Archives: Real-time PCR

Will Epigenetics Help Overcome Cisplatin Resistance in Ovarian Cancers?

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Nicole Kelesoglu

Hello Epiexperts! There are a couple recent open access papers to point out to you this week. Both relate to ovarian cancer progression and desensitization to the chemotherapy, Cisplatin. Cisplatin resistance is the primary obstacle to surviving ovarian cancer. These cancers are rare thankfully, but the 5 year survival rate is only 15-20%. Epigentics researchers are actively engaged in confronting this challenging disease. There are several Phase II clinical trials in progress for individual and combinational therapies using DNA methylation inhibitors and histone deacetlase (HDAC) inhibitors. Until those epigenetics based therapy trial results are available, as things stand, the current outlook is bleak. Please see this piece by Donna Trussell, in the Washington Post. She writes from her personal perspective … Continue reading →

Posted in Bioinformatics, Biomarkers, Clinical Studies, DNA Methylation, Databases, Genetics, Genomewide Methylation Profiling, History & Trends, Methylated DNA Capture, Next Gen Sequencing, Oncology, Real-time PCR, Sodium Bisulfite Sequencing, Transcriptome microarray | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

New & Simplified DNA Methylation Profiling Method: Bio CAP (Biotinylated CxxC Affinity Purification)

Posted on December 26, 2011 by Nicole Kelesoglu

When a portrait artist is drawing a subject, it is often helpful to view the work in progress, as a reflection in a mirror. Somehow it re-attunes the mind’s eye to better assess the quality of the image. In a similar way, recently developed methods allow scientists to reflect on disease, or developmental states, by isolating NON-methylated DNA for profiling. Illinngworth et al., cleverly developed the CAP method in 2008. It produces profiles of non-methylated DNA using a zinc finger CxxxC domain which specifically recognizes non-methylated CpGs. The downsides to this method are that it requires a high-resolution chromatographic system, a large amount of the recombinant CxxC module, large amounts of input DNA (to account for elution and handling steps), … Continue reading →

Posted in Applications, Bioinformatics, DNA Methylation, Genomewide Methylation Profiling, New Lab Methods, Next Gen Sequencing, Real-time PCR | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Cellular Trash to Treasure – Exosomes

Posted on May 27, 2011 by Nicole Kelesoglu

Blood-Based Gene Expression Signatures in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.Clin Cancer Res. 2011 May 15 Thomas Zander, Andrea Hofmann, Andrea Staratschek-Jox, et al has been big in the international news recently. The authors are aiming to develop an RNA-stabilized blood test for asymptomatic lung cancer, using gene expression profiles, from what they believe to be immune effector blood cells – not cancer cells. The prognosis for lung cancer once you already have symptoms, is terrible. Their work is great news because this kind of non-invasive diagnostic test is desperately needed. However, there is another promising approach to transcriptome signature diagnostics to be aware of…Microvesicle shuttled RNA. Microvesicles, (MV), were once considered just cellular debris. We now know that blood, and many … Continue reading →

Posted in Applications, Biomarkers, Clinical Studies, Diagnostics, Flow Cytometry, Genetics, History & Trends, Next Gen Sequencing, Oncology, Pathology, Real-time PCR, Virology, microRNA, siRNA | Leave a comment