Combined microfluidic enrichment and staining workflow for single-cell analysis of circulating tumor cells in metastatic prostate cancer patients.

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are precursors of cancer in the blood and provide an attractive source for dynamic monitoring of disease progression and tumor heterogeneity. However, the scarcity of CTCs in the bloodstream has limited their use in clinical practice. In this study, we present a workflow for easy detection of CTCs by cytokeratin staining using the FDA-cleared Parsortix device for size-based microfluidic enrichment.

Structure-Activity Study of an All-d Antimicrobial Octapeptide D2D.

The increasing emergence of multi-drug resistant bacteria is a serious threat to public health worldwide. Antimicrobial peptides have attracted attention as potential antibiotics since they are present in all multicellular organisms and act as a first line of defence against invading pathogens. We have previously identified a small all-d antimicrobial octapeptide amide kk(1-nal)fk(1-nal)k(nle)-NH () with promising antimicrobial activity.

DNA Damage Repair and Drug Efflux as Potential Targets for Reversing Low or Intermediate Ciprofloxacin Resistance in K-12.

Ciprofloxacin is a potent antibacterial drug that is widely used in human clinical applications. As a consequence of its extensive use, resistance has emerged in almost all clinically relevant bacterial species. A mean to combat the observed ciprofloxacin resistance is by reversing it via co-administration of a potentiating compound, also known as a helper drug.

Iron chelation increases the tolerance of Escherichia coli to hyper-replication stress.

In Escherichia coli, an increase in the frequency of chromosome replication is lethal. In order to identify compounds that affect chromosome replication, we screened for molecules capable of restoring the viability of hyper-replicating cells. We made use of two E.

A Novel Fluorescence-Based Screen for Inhibitors of the Initiation of DNA Replication in Bacteria.

Background: One of many strategies to overcome antibiotic resistance is the discovery of compounds targeting cellular processes, which have not yet been exploited.

Materials And Methods: Using various genetic tools, we constructed a novel high throughput, cellbased, fluorescence screen for inhibitors of chromosome replication initiation in bacteria.

Results: The screen was validated by expression of an intra-cellular cyclic peptide interfering with the initiator protein DnaA and by over-expression of the negative initiation regulator SeqA.

Mutations in the bacterial ribosomal protein l3 and their association with antibiotic resistance.

Different groups of antibiotics bind to the peptidyl transferase center (PTC) in the large subunit of the bacterial ribosome. Resistance to these groups of antibiotics has often been linked with mutations or methylations of the 23S rRNA. In recent years, there has been a rise in the number of studies where mutations have been found in the ribosomal protein L3 in bacterial strains resistant to PTC-targeting antibiotics but there is often no evidence that these mutations actually confer antibiotic resistance.