Preclinical evaluation of engineered L-asparaginase variants to improve the treatment of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Introduction: Escherichia coli l-asparaginase (EcA), an integral part of multi-agent chemotherapy protocols of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), is constrained by safety concerns and the development of anti-asparaginase antibodies. Novel variants with better pharmacological properties are desirable.

Methods: Thousands of novel EcA variants were constructed using protein engineering approach.

RPS13, a potential universal reference gene for normalisation of gene expression in multiple human normal and cancer tissue samples.

Background: Reference genes are considered stable genes and are used for normalizing the gene expression profile across different cell types; as well as, in normal and diseased samples. However, these gene associates with different biological processes, and hence expression vary in different pathological conditions. Therefore, in the present study, eight different reference genes were used and compared to identify common reference gene usable for an array of different cell types and human cancers.

Analysis of Chromatin Modifiers and Profiling of Histone Deacetylases (HDAC's) in Human Oral Cancer.

Histone modifications have been demonstrated to play a significant role in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) epigenetic regulation. An analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) of various histone acetyl transferases (HATs) and histone deacetylases (HDACs) suggested that HATs do not differ between normal and tumor samples whereas HDAC2 and HDAC1 change maximally and marginally respectively between normal and tumor patients with no change being noted in HDAC6 expression. Hence, this investigation was carried out to validate the expression states of HDAC 1, 2 and 6 mRNAs in buccal mucosa and tongue SCC samples in an Indian cohort.

Tumor-specific overexpression of histone gene, H3C14 in gastric cancer is mediated through EGFR-FOXC1 axis.

Incorporation of different H3 histone isoforms/variants have been reported to differentially regulate gene expression via alteration in chromatin organization during diverse cellular processes. However, the differential expression of highly conserved histone H3.2 genes, H3C14 and H3C13 in human cancer has not been delineated.

Establishing a correlation between RIN and A along with the multivariate evaluation of factors affecting the quality of RNA in cryopreserved cancer bio-specimen.

Biomarkers are biological characteristic to measure and evaluate normal and pathological states. To define expression-based molecular biomarkers, high-quality tissue samples are a prerequisite for the preparation of standard RNA. It is already known that RIN number defines the RNA quality, however its relation with A ratio and Ct value is not defined clearly; therefore, understanding an association will provide a reliable method for describing RNA quality.