Use of a platform with lens-free shadow imaging technology to monitor natural killer cell activity.

Natural killer (NK) cells are a crucial component of the innate immune system. This study introduces Cellytics NK, a novel platform for rapid and precise measurement of NK cell activity. This platform combines an NK-specific activation stimulator cocktail (ASC) and lens-free shadow imaging technology (LSIT), using optoelectronic components.

Topical methylene blue nanoformulation for the photodynamic therapy of acne vulgaris.

Acne vulgaris is a common skin disease caused by multifactorial reasons involving excessive sebum secretion and inflammation by Cutibacterium acnes (C. acnes). Various conventional therapies are available for the treatment of acne vulgaris; however, topical photodynamic therapy (PDT) has attracted much attention because of its great potential for sebum-reducing, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial activities.

Risk of active tuberculosis development in contacts exposed to infectious tuberculosis in congregate settings in Korea.

Contact investigation is an important and effective active case-finding strategy, but there is a lack of research on congregate settings in countries with an intermediate incidence. This study determined the incidence of and risk factors for tuberculosis (TB) development after exposure in congregate settings. This retrospective cohort study included 116,742 contacts identified during the investigation of 2,609 TB cases diagnosed from January to December 2015.

The risk of active tuberculosis among individuals living in tuberculosis-affected households in the Republic of Korea, 2015.

Background: In the Republic of Korea (ROK), compared to other high-income countries, tuberculosis (TB) prevalence is relatively high. Active TB and latent TB infection (LTBI) surveillance of individuals living in TB-affected households has been conducted for several years. Although active case finding is an important strategy in low-prevalence, high-income countries, its effectiveness in a high prevalence setting is unclear.

Enumeration of CD34-positive Stem Cells Using the ADAMII Image-based Fluorescence Cell Counter.

Background: It is very important to accurately enumerate CD34-positive (CD34+) cells for successful hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). We evaluated the ability of the newly developed image based-immunofluorescence cell counter ADAMII (NanoEntek, Seoul, Korea) to enumerate CD34+ cells, which was improved through simultaneous CD45 analysis.

Methods: We enumerated CD34+ cells with ADAMII using 19 peripheral blood (PB) and 91 leukapheresis samples from HSCT donors.

Development of an anti-EPO antibody detection kit based on lab-on-a-chip and bridging antibody technologies.

Immunogenicity is a major concern in the use of biological drugs. In particular, antibody-mediated pure red cell aplasia (PRCA) is a rare condition that is caused by administration of recombinant erythropoietin. There are numerous assay platforms for detect EPO anti-drug antibody (ADA), and most have appropriate assay sensitivity, but in need of improvement in terms of assay turnaround time and user accessibility.

Correction to: HiComet: a high-throughput comet analysis tool for large-scale DNA damage assessment.

After publication of the original article [1], it has been found that the author affiliations have been accidentally left out in the PDF. The full affiliations can be found in this correction.

HiComet: a high-throughput comet analysis tool for large-scale DNA damage assessment.

Background: DNA damage causes aging, cancer, and other serious diseases. The comet assay can detect multiple types of DNA lesions with high sensitivity, and it has been widely applied. Although comet assay platforms have improved the limited throughput and reproducibility of traditional assays in recent times, analyzing large quantities of comet data often requires a tremendous human effort.

Analytical performance of a new one-step quantitative prostate-specific antigen assay, the FREND™ PSA Plus.

Background: We evaluated the analytical performance of a new one-step rapid quantitative sandwich immunoassay for total prostate-specific antigen (tPSA), the FREND™ PSA Plus (FREND PSA) (NanoEnTek Inc., Seoul, Korea).

Methods: The imprecision, linearity, hook effect, detection limit (LoD), and interference were evaluated and trueness verification and matrix validation were performed.

Robust classification of DNA damage patterns in single cell gel electrophoresis.

Single cell gel electrophoresis, also known as comet assay, has been widely used for assessing the effect of genotoxicity and detecting DNA damage of individual eukaryotic cells. There exist established imaging techniques for cometassay analysis, but these platforms have limitations such as required user interventions, low throughput, and weakness to noise caused by incomplete dyeing of fluorescent materials and other experimental errors. To resolve these, we propose a novel procedure for analyzing comet assay images, which considers various DNA damage patterns and classifies them in a robust manner.

RAG2 PHD finger couples histone H3 lysine 4 trimethylation with V(D)J recombination.

Nuclear processes such as transcription, DNA replication and recombination are dynamically regulated by chromatin structure. Eukaryotic transcription is known to be regulated by chromatin-associated proteins containing conserved protein domains that specifically recognize distinct covalent post-translational modifications on histones. However, it has been unclear whether similar mechanisms are involved in mammalian DNA recombination.