Circulating Cell-Free DNA Yield and Circulating-Tumor DNA Quantity from Liquid Biopsies of 12 139 Cancer Patients.

Background: The amounts of circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) and circulating-tumor DNA (ctDNA) present in peripheral blood liquid biopsies can vary due to preanalytic/analytic variables. In this study, we examined the impact of patient age, sex, stage, and tumor type on cfDNA yield, ctDNA fraction, and estimated ctDNA quantity from a large cohort of clinical liquid biopsy samples.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of 12 139 consecutive samples received for liquid biopsy (FoundationOne® Liquid) clinical testing.

Efficiency of the APTIMA HPV Assay for detection of HPV RNA and DNA targets.

Background: The APTIMA HPV Assay (AHPV) is designed to detect HPV E6/E7 mRNA from 14 high-risk types in Cytyc PreservCyt liquid-based cytology specimens.

Objectives: To compare AHPV analytical sensitivity for RNA and DNA; to compare the sensitivity of AHPV and Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2) assays for HPV DNA detection; to compare assay performance with and without sample denaturation; to compare assay results with cytology.

Study Design: Analytical sensitivity of AHPV for detecting E6/E7 RNA was assessed by spiking samples with various quantities of HPV 16 E6/E7 in vitro RNA transcript or HPV 16-positive SiHa cells.

The PIAS-like protein Zimp10 is essential for embryonic viability and proper vascular development.

Members of the PIAS (for protein inhibitor of activated STAT) family play critical roles in modulating the activity of a variety of transcriptional regulators. Zimp10, a novel PIAS-like protein, is a transcriptional coregulator and may be involved in the modification of chromatin through interactions with the SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complexes. Here, we investigate the biological role of Zimp10 in zimp10-deficient mice.

A homing mechanism for bone marrow-derived progenitor cell recruitment to the neovasculature.

CD34+ bone marrow-derived progenitor cells contribute to tissue repair by differentiating into endothelial cells, vascular smooth muscle cells, hematopoietic cells, and possibly other cell types. However, the mechanisms by which circulating progenitor cells home to remodeling tissues remain unclear. Here we show that integrin alpha4beta1 (VLA-4) promotes the homing of circulating progenitor cells to the alpha4beta1 ligands VCAM and cellular fibronectin, which are expressed on actively remodeling neovasculature.

Loss of Apaf-1 leads to partial rescue of the HAND2-null phenotype.

HAND2 is an essential transcription factor for cardiac, pharyngeal arch, and limb development. Apoptosis in the HAND2-null embryo causes hypoplasia of the right ventricle and pharyngeal arches leading to lethality by embryonic day (E)10.0 from heart failure.

Genetic and comparative mapping of genes dysregulated in mouse hearts lacking the Hand2 transcription factor gene.

The helix-loop-helix transcription factor HAND2 plays a vital role in the development of the heart, limb, facies, and other neural crest-derived structures. We used differential display analysis to identify 33 putative HAND2-regulated ESTs that are differentially expressed in Hand2(-/-) vs wild-type mice. We determined the positions on mouse and human genetic maps of 29 of these by using the T31 mouse Radiation Hybrid panel, comparison to human genomic sequence, and comparative mapping.