Detection of EpCAM-Negative and Cytokeratin-Negative Circulating Tumor Cells in Peripheral Blood.

Enrichment of rare circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in blood is typically achieved using antibodies to epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM), with detection using cytokeratin (CK) antibodies. However, EpCAM and CK are not expressed in some tumors and can be downregulated during epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. A micro-fluidic system, not limited to EpCAM or CK, was developed to use multiple antibodies for capture followed by detection using CEE-Enhanced (CE), a novel in situ staining method that fluorescently labels the capture antibodies bound to CTCs.

Optimized protocol for the 2-DE of extracellular proteins from higher basidiomycetes inhabiting lignocellulose.

Basidiomycetes inhabiting lignocellulose comprise an important class of filamentous fungi with ecological and biotechnological relevance. Extracellular enzymes of wood-degrading fungi such as laccases, manganese-dependent (or independent) peroxidases, cellulases and xylanases are of considerable interest for biotechnological applications. Still, proteomic studies of fungal secretomes based on 2-DE can be very challenging due to low protein concentrations and variable amounts of fungal metabolites.

Multiplex fluorescence-based primer extension method for quantitative mutation analysis of mitochondrial DNA and its diagnostic application for Alzheimer's disease.

A sensitive and highly reproducible multiplexed primer extension assay is described for quantitative mutation analysis of heterogeneous DNA populations. Wild-type and mutant target DNA are simultaneously probed in competitive primer extension reactions using fluorophor-labeled primers and high fidelity, thermostable DNA polymerases in the presence of defined mixtures of deoxy- and dideoxynucleotides. Primers are differentially extended and the resulting products are distinguished by size and dye label.