Epigenetic drug combination induces genome-wide demethylation and altered gene expression in neuro-ectodermal tumor-derived cell lines.

Background: Epigenetic alterations are inherent to cancer cells, and epigenetic drugs are currently primarily used to treat hematological malignancies. Pediatric neuro-ectodermal tumors originate from neural crest cells and also exhibit epigenetic alterations involving e.g.

A novel and fast normalization method for high-density arrays.

Background: Among the most commonly applied microarray normalization methods are intensity-dependent normalization methods such as lowess or loess algorithms. Their computational complexity makes them slow and thus less suitable for normalization of large datasets. Current implementations try to circumvent this problem by using a random subset of the data for normalization, but the impact of this modification has not been previously assessed.

The effects of low levels of dystrophin on mouse muscle function and pathology.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a severe progressive muscular disorder caused by reading frame disrupting mutations in the DMD gene, preventing the synthesis of functional dystrophin. As dystrophin provides muscle fiber stability during contractions, dystrophin negative fibers are prone to exercise-induced damage. Upon exhaustion of the regenerative capacity, fibers will be replaced by fibrotic and fat tissue resulting in a progressive loss of function eventually leading to death in the early thirties.

Comparison of skeletal muscle pathology and motor function of dystrophin and utrophin deficient mouse strains.

The genetic defect of mdx mice resembles that of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, although their functional performance and life expectancy is nearly normal. By contrast, mice lacking utrophin and dystrophin (mdx/utrn -/-) are severely affected and die prematurely. Mice with one utrophin allele (mdx/utrn +/-) are more severely affected than mdx mice, but outlive mdx/utrn -/- mice.

High anaplastic lymphoma kinase immunohistochemical staining in neuroblastoma and ganglioneuroblastoma is an independent predictor of poor outcome.

Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) mutations occur in 3% to 11% of neuroblastoma (NBL) cases and are associated with high ALK levels. However, high ALK levels appear to be a mutation-independent hallmark of NBL. Evidence about the prognostic relevance of ALK mutations and ALK tumor positivity in patients with NBL has been inconclusive.