Development and Analytical Validation of a DNA Dual-Strand Approach for the US Food and Drug Administration-Approved Next-Generation Sequencing-Based Praxis Extended RAS Panel for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Samples.

A next-generation sequencing method was developed that can distinguish single-stranded modifications from low-frequency somatic mutations present on both strands of DNA in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded colorectal cancer samples. We applied this method for analytical validation of the Praxis Extended RAS Panel, a US Food and Drug Administration-approved companion diagnostic for panitumumab, on the Illumina MiSeqDx platform. With the use of the TruSeq amplicon workflow, both strands of DNA from the starting material were interrogated independently.

JAK/STAT3 pathway is involved in survival of neurons in response to insulin-like growth factor and negatively regulated by suppressor of cytokine signaling-3.

Janus kinases (JAK) and signal transducers and activator of transcription (STAT) proteins are activated in response to many cytokines and growth factors and are well studied in the immune system. This study was conducted to examine the role of the JAK/STAT pathway in neurons in response to tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), which play a major role during neurodegeneration, and to study their effect on expression of suppressors of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS-3), belonging to the novel family of feedback regulators of cytokine and growth factor activities. In this report, we showed that TNFalpha is inhibitory to the survival of primary cortical neurons at higher doses and that IGF-1 can rescue TNFalpha-stimulated cell death.