An adaptable, portable microarray reader for biodetection.

We have developed an inexpensive portable microarray reader that can be applied to standard microscope slide-based arrays and other array formats printed on chemically modified surfaces. Measuring only 19 cm in length, the imaging device is portable and may be applicable to both triage and clinical settings. For multiplexing and adaptability purposes, it can be modified to work with multiple excitation/emission wavelengths.

Applications of functional protein microarrays: identifying protein-protein interactions in an array format.

The use of protein arrays and their importance in proteomic applications continues to be at the forefront of scientific discovery and innovative technology development. To date, array-based approaches have proven to be a powerful tool for protein expression profiling, novel biomarker discovery, and the examination of protein, DNA, and small molecule interactions. Our laboratory has developed several approaches for characterizing protein-protein interactions using protein microarrays for a variety of different biological applications.

Treatment with 1-alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (vitamin D3) to inhibit carcinogenesis in the hamster buccal pouch model.

Objective: To investigate whether systemic therapy with 1-alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) (vitamin D(3) [hereinafter, VD(3)]) prevents tumor formation in a hamster buccal pouch model of carcinogenesis.

Design: Randomized trial in which a known carcinogen, 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA), was applied to the buccal pouch of 40 hamsters. Animals were randomized to receive systemic VD(3) or no treatment and killed at 2, 6, and 14 weeks after the initiation of DMBA exposure.

The ATPase motif in RAD51D is required for resistance to DNA interstrand crosslinking agents and interaction with RAD51C.

Homologous recombination (HR) is a mechanism for repairing DNA interstrand crosslinks and double-strand breaks. In mammals, HR requires the activities of the RAD51 family (RAD51, RAD51B, RAD51C, RAD51D, XRCC2, XRCC3 and DMC1), each of which contains conserved ATP binding sequences (Walker Motifs A and B). RAD51D is a DNA-stimulated ATPase that interacts directly with RAD51C and XRCC2.

Towards a proteome-scale map of the human protein-protein interaction network.

Systematic mapping of protein-protein interactions, or 'interactome' mapping, was initiated in model organisms, starting with defined biological processes and then expanding to the scale of the proteome. Although far from complete, such maps have revealed global topological and dynamic features of interactome networks that relate to known biological properties, suggesting that a human interactome map will provide insight into development and disease mechanisms at a systems level. Here we describe an initial version of a proteome-scale map of human binary protein-protein interactions.