Homozygous ALS-linked mutations in TARDBP/TDP-43 lead to hypoactivity and synaptic abnormalities in human iPSC-derived motor neurons.

Cytoplasmic mislocalization and aggregation of the RNA-binding protein TDP-43 is a pathological hallmark of the motor neuron (MN) disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Furthermore, while mutations in (encoding TDP-43) have been associated with ALS, the pathogenic consequences of these mutations remain poorly understood. Using CRISPR-Cas9, we engineered two homozygous knock-in induced pluripotent stem cell lines carrying mutations in encoding TDP-43 and TDP-43, two common yet understudied ALS TDP-43 variants.

Auto-qPCR; a python-based web app for automated and reproducible analysis of qPCR data.

Quantifying changes in DNA and RNA levels is essential in numerous molecular biology protocols. Quantitative real time PCR (qPCR) techniques have evolved to become commonplace, however, data analysis includes many time-consuming and cumbersome steps, which can lead to mistakes and misinterpretation of data. To address these bottlenecks, we have developed an open-source Python software to automate processing of result spreadsheets from qPCR machines, employing calculations usually performed manually.