Optimizing Ex Vivo CAR-T Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity Assay through Multimodality Imaging.

CAR-T cell-based therapies have demonstrated remarkable efficacy in treating malignant cancers, especially liquid tumors, and are increasingly being evaluated in clinical trials for solid tumors. With the FDA's initiative to advance alternative methods for drug discovery and development, full human ex vivo assays are increasingly essential for precision CAR-T development. However, prevailing ex vivo CAR-T cell-mediated cytotoxicity assays are limited by their use of radioactive materials, lack of real-time measurement, low throughput, and inability to automate, among others.

Temporal inhibition of chromatin looping and enhancer accessibility during neuronal remodeling.

During development, looping of an enhancer to a promoter is frequently observed in conjunction with temporal and tissue-specific transcriptional activation. The chromatin insulator-associated protein Alan Shepard (Shep) promotes Drosophila post-mitotic neuronal remodeling by repressing transcription of master developmental regulators, such as brain tumor (brat), specifically in maturing neurons. Since insulator proteins can promote looping, we hypothesized that Shep antagonizes brat promoter interaction with an as yet unidentified enhancer.

The zinc-finger protein OEF-1 stabilizes histone modification patterns and promotes efficient splicing in the Caenorhabditis elegans germline.

To ensure stable transmission of genetic information to the next generation, germ cells frequently silence sex chromosomes, as well as autosomal loci that promote inappropriate differentiation programs. In Caenorhabditis elegans, silenced and active genomic domains are established in germ cells by the histone modification complexes MES-2/3/6 and MES-4, which promote silent and active chromatin states, respectively. These states are generally mutually exclusive and modulation of one state influences the pattern of the other.

Isolated C. elegans germ nuclei exhibit distinct genomic profiles of histone modification and gene expression.

Background: The wide variety of specialized permissive and repressive mechanisms by which germ cells regulate developmental gene expression are not well understood genome-wide. Isolation of germ cells with high integrity and purity from living animals is necessary to address these open questions, but no straightforward methods are currently available.

Results: Here we present an experimental paradigm that permits the isolation of nuclei from C.

The Germline-Specific Factor OEF-1 Facilitates Coordinated Progression Through Germ Cell Development in .

The purpose of germ cells is to ensure the faithful transmission of genetic material to the next generation. To develop into mature gametes, germ cells must pass through cell cycle checkpoints while maintaining totipotency and genomic integrity. How germ cells coordinate developmental events while simultaneously protecting their unique fate is not well understood.

Use of laser induced breakdown spectroscopy in the determination of gem provenance: beryls.

The provenance of gem stones has been of interest to geologists, gemologists, archeologists, and historians for centuries. Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) provides a minimally destructive tool for recording the rich chemical signatures of gem beryls (aquamarine, goshenite, heliodor, and morganite). Broadband LIBS spectra of 39 beryl (Be(3)Al(2)Si(6)O(18)) specimens from 11 pegmatite mines in New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Maine (USA) are used to assess the potential of using principal component analysis of LIBS spectra to determine specimen provenance.

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy analysis of complex silicate minerals--beryl.

Beryl (Be3Al2Si6O18) is a chemically complex and highly compositionally variable gem-forming mineral found in a variety of geologic settings worldwide. A methodology and analytical protocol were developed for the analysis of beryl by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) that minimizes the coefficient of variance for multiple analyses of the same specimen. The parameters considered were laser energy/pulse, time delay and crystallographic orientation.