Publications by authors named "J Balog"

Germline mutations in SMCHD1, DNMT3B and LRIF1 can cause facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy type 2 (FSHD2). FSHD is an epigenetic skeletal muscle disorder in which partial failure in heterochromatinization of the D4Z4 macrosatellite repeat causes spurious expression of the repeat-embedded gene in skeletal muscle, ultimately leading to muscle weakness and wasting. All three proteins play a role in chromatin organization and gene silencing; however, their functional relationship has not been fully elucidated.

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Building extensive drug candidate libraries as early in the development pipeline as possible, with high-throughput in vitro absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) profiling, is crucial for the selection of lead compounds to guide subsequent research and production phases. Traditionally, the analysis of metabolic stability assays heavily relies on high-throughput LC-MS/MS (liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry) techniques to meet with the lead profiling demands. Laser-assisted rapid evaporative ionization mass spectrometry (LA-REIMS) is a quick and efficient technique for characterizing complex biological samples without laborious sample preparation.

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Background: While REIMS technology has successfully been demonstrated for the histological identification of ex-vivo breast tumor tissues, questions regarding the robustness of the approach and the possibility of tumor molecular diagnostics still remain unanswered. In the current study, we set out to determine whether it is possible to acquire cross-comparable REIMS datasets at multiple sites for the identification of breast tumors and subtypes.

Methods: A consortium of four sites with three of them having access to fresh surgical tissue samples performed tissue analysis using identical REIMS setups and protocols.

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Breast cancer, a complex disease with a significant prevalence to form metastases, necessitates novel therapeutic strategies to improve treatment outcomes. Here, we present the results of a comparative molecular study of primary breast tumours, their metastases, and the corresponding primary cell lines using Desorption Electrospray Ionisation (DESI) and Laser-Assisted Rapid Evaporative Ionisation Mass Spectrometry (LA-REIMS) imaging. Our results show that ambient ionisation mass spectrometry technology is suitable for rapid characterisation of samples, providing a lipid- and metabolite-rich spectrum within seconds.

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Germline pathogenic variants in and (gpath(/)) represent genetic susceptibility for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome. Tumor-immune interactions are key contributors to breast cancer pathogenesis. Although earlier studies confirmed pro-tumorigenic immunological alterations in breast cancer patients, data are lacking in healthy carriers of gpath(/).

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