Search

Asymmetric multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) was developed for the amplification of seven breast cancer related mRNA markers and the MLPA products were electrochemically detected via hybridization. Seven breast cancer genetic markers were amplified by means of the MLPA reaction, which allows for multiplex amplification of multiple targets with a single primer pair. Novel synthetic MLPA probes were designed to include a unique barcode sequence in each amplified gene. Capture probes complementary to each of the barcode sequences were immobilized on each electrode of a low-cost electrode microarray manufactured on standard printed circuit board (PCB) substrates. The functionalised electrodes were exposed to the single-stranded MLPA products and following hybridization, a horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-labelled DNA secondary probe complementary to the amplified strand completed the genocomplex, which was electrochemically detected following substrate addition. The electrode arrays fabricated using PCB technology exhibited an excellent electrochemical performance, equivalent to planar photolithographically-fabricated gold electrodes, but at a vastly reduced cost (>50 times lower per array). The optimised system was demonstrated to be highly specific with negligible cross-reactivity allowing the simultaneous detection of the seven mRNA markers, with limits of detections as low as 25 pM. This approach provides a novel strategy for the genetic profiling of tumour cells via integrated "amplification-to-detection"., QC 20160524

Regularly performed endurance training has many beneficial effects on health and skeletal muscle function, and can be used to prevent and treat common diseases e.g. cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes and obesity. The molecular adaptation mechanisms regulating these effects are incompletely understood. To date, global transcriptome changes in skeletal muscles have been studied at the gene level only. Therefore, global isoform expression changes following exercise training in humans are unknown. Also, the effects of repeated interventions on transcriptional memory or training response have not been studied before. In this study, 23 individuals trained one leg for three months. Nine months later, 12 of the same subjects trained both legs in a second training period. Skeletal muscle biopsies were obtained from both legs before and after both training periods. RNA sequencing analysis of all 119 skeletal muscle biopsies showed that training altered the expression of 3,404 gene isoforms, mainly associated with oxidative ATP production. Fifty-four genes had isoforms that changed in opposite directions. Training altered expression of 34 novel transcripts, all with protein-coding potential. After nine months of detraining, no training-induced transcriptome differences were detected between the previously trained and untrained legs. Although there were several differences in the physiological and transcriptional responses to repeated training, no coherent evidence of an endurance training induced transcriptional skeletal muscle memory was found. This human lifestyle intervention induced differential expression of thousands of isoforms and several transcripts from unannotated regions of the genome. It is likely that the observed isoform expression changes reflect adaptational mechanisms and processes that provide the functional and health benefits of regular physical activity., QC 20161117

QC 20150326

Personalized cancer treatment requires molecular characterization of individual tumor biopsies. These samples are frequently only available in limited quantities hampering genomic analysis. Several whole genome amplification (WGA) protocols have been developed with reported varying representation of genomic regions post amplification. In this study we investigate region dropout using a 929 polymerase based WGA approach. DNA from 123 lung cancers specimens and corresponding normal tissue were used and evaluated by Sanger sequencing of the p53 exons 5-8. To enable comparative analysis of this scarce material, WGA samples were compared with unamplified material using a pooling strategy of the 123 samples. In addition, a more detailed analysis of exon 7 amplicons were performed followed by extensive cloning and Sanger sequencing. Interestingly, by comparing data from the pooled samples to the individually sequenced exon 7, we demonstrate that mutations are more easily recovered from WGA pools and this was also supported by simulations of different sequencing coverage. Overall this data indicate a limited random loss of genomic regions supporting the use of whole genome amplification for genomic analysis., QC 20120928