Publications by authors named "Stefan Nicolet"

Molecular and protein biomarker profiling are key to oncology drug development. Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) directly deliver chemotherapeutic agents into tumor cells based on unique cancer cell biomarkers. A pan-cancer tissue microarray (TMA) data set and gene panel were validated and gene signature analyses were conducted on normal and cancer tissues to refine selection of ADC targets.

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Introduction: Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is the most common mesenchymal neoplasm of the gastrointestinal tract. It has distinct molecular features and primarily affects the KIT and PDGFRA genes.

Objective: We wanted to assess the molecular profile of 68 GIST patients who were sequenced consecutively between 2014 and 2019 at our institute of pathology.

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Digital pathology including whole slide image (WSI) acquisition is a promising tool for histopathologic teleconsultation. To test and validate the use of WSI in comparison with robotic microscopy for intraoperative frozen section consultation of peripheral hospitals serviced by our department, we compared the VENTANA DP 200 slide scanner with an established remote-controlled digital microscope. Thirty cases were retrospectively analysed.

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Pre-symptomatic screening of genetic alterations might help identify subpopulations of individuals that could enter into early access prevention programs. Since liquid biopsy is minimally invasive it can be used for longitudinal studies in healthy volunteers to monitor events of progression from normal tissue to pre-cancerous and cancerous condition. Yet, cell-free DNA (cfDNA) analysis in healthy individuals comes with substantial challenges such as the lack of large cohort studies addressing the impact of mutations in healthy individuals or the low abundance of cfDNA in plasma.

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The development of resistance to virtually all current antibiotics makes the discovery of new antimicrobial compounds with novel protein targets an urgent challenge. The dapE-encoded N-succinyl-L,L-diaminopimelic acid desuccinylase (DapE) is an essential metallo-enzyme for growth and proliferation in many bacteria, acting in the desuccinylation of N-succinyl-L,L-diaminopimelic acid (SDAP) in a late stage of the anabolic pathway towards both lysine and a crucial building block of the peptidoglycan cell wall. L-Captopril, which has been shown to exhibit very promising inhibitory activity in vitro against DapE and has attractive drug-like properties, nevertheless does not target DapE in bacteria effectively.

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Together with actin filaments and microtubules, intermediate filaments (IFs) are the basic cytoskeletal components of metazoan cells. Over 80 human diseases have been linked to mutations in various IF proteins to date. However, the filament structure is far from being resolved at the atomic level, which hampers rational understanding of IF pathologies.

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Lens epithelium-derived growth factor (LEDGF/p75) is a cellular cofactor of HIV-1 integrase that promotes viral integration by tethering the preintegration complex to the chromatin. By virtue of its crucial role in the early steps of HIV replication, the interaction between LEDGF/p75 and integrase represents an attractive target for antiviral therapy. We have rationally designed a series of 2-(quinolin-3-yl)acetic acid derivatives (LEDGINs) that act as potent inhibitors of the LEDGF/p75-integrase interaction and HIV-1 replication at submicromolar concentration by blocking the integration step.

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Intermediate filaments (IFs) are essential cytoskeletal components in metazoan cells. They assemble from elementary dimers that are built around the central alpha-helical coiled-coil rod domain representing the IF 'signature'. The rod consists of two similarly-sized parts, coil 1 and coil 2, connected by a non-alpha-helical linker L12.

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