Publications by authors named "Tai-Long Chen"
Article Synopsis
- McCune-Albright syndrome (MAS) is a genetic condition marked by early puberty, skin pigmentation spots, and bone issues due to mutations in the GNAS gene.
- A new method using a fluorescent peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probe was developed to identify these mutations in a single reaction tube.
- Testing on six patients revealed that the PNA probe could detect low levels of mutations even when the normal gene was present in 200 times greater amounts, successfully identifying mutations in three patients with severe MAS.
Article Synopsis
- Mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) significantly influence how non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients respond to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs).
- A novel assay using fluorophore-labeled peptide nucleic acids (PNA) was developed to detect specific EGFR mutations in pleural effusions, providing a less invasive method compared to traditional tissue biopsies.
- The assay showed a high correlation between detected mutations in pleural effusions and patient outcomes, with those having certain mutations responding better to treatment and enjoying longer progression-free survival.
Article Synopsis
- EGFR exon 19 deletion is crucial for guiding tyrosine kinase inhibitor treatment in non-small cell lung cancer, but detecting these mutations is complicated due to over 30 different types found at the hotspot.
- A new single tube assay utilizing a peptide nucleic acid (PNA) clamp and DNA probes can successfully detect at least 29 types of exon 19 deletions, achieving high sensitivity by identifying as little as 0.01% mutant DNA amidst wild-type DNA.
- This assay has shown promising results in body fluid samples from lung cancer patients, detecting 100% of deletions in pleural effusions and 60% in plasma, suggesting its potential for clinical use and adaptation for microfluidic devices.
A Sensitive Peptide Nucleic Acid Probe Assay for Detection of BRAF V600 Mutations in Melanoma.
Cancer Genomics Proteomics
January 2017
Mutated v-Raf murine sarcoma viral oncogene homolog B (BRAF) is an important biomarker for the prediction of therapeutic efficacy of several anticancer drugs. The detection of BRAF mutation faces two challenges: Firstly, there are multiple types of mutations, and secondly, tumor samples usually contain various amounts of wild-type, normal tissues. Here, we describe a newly established method for sensitive detection of multiple types of BRAF V600 mutations in excess wild-type background.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Circulating mRNA is a less invasive and more easily accessed source of samples for biomedical research and clinical applications. However, it is of poor quality. We explored and compared the ability of two high-throughput platforms for the profiling of circulating mRNA regarding their ability to retrieve useful information out of this type of samples.
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- Influenza viruses cause annual outbreaks and occasional pandemics; however, drug-resistant strains have made antiviral treatments less effective.
- A new single-tube method using peptide nucleic acid (PNA) to detect resistant virus genes was developed, targeting H1N1 strains resistant to the antiviral amantadine.
- This PNA-mediated reverse transcription-PCR can accurately identify very low levels of drug-resistant viral RNA, aiding in the monitoring of resistant influenza strains.
Article Synopsis
- The 2009 H1N1 pandemic created a need for an effective and straightforward screening method for viral infections to manage public health crises.
- Through bioinformatics, a specific genetic marker was identified to differentiate between swine lineage and human seasonal H1N1 viruses, leading to the development of a TaqMan probe-based testing method.
- The new assay demonstrated high sensitivity (92%) and specificity (100%), effectively detecting low viral loads and streamlining laboratory processes for mass sample analysis.
The detection of rare mutant DNA from a background of wild-type alleles usually requires laborious manipulations, such as restriction enzyme digestion and gel electrophoresis. Here, we describe a protocol for homogeneous detection of rare mutant DNA in a single tube. The protocol uses a peptide nucleic acid (PNA) as both PCR clamp and sensor probe.
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- The main challenge of using somatic mutations as cancer markers is that clinical samples often have very low levels of mutant DNA compared to a larger amount of normal DNA.
- The authors developed a new, simple, and rapid single-step protocol that utilizes a peptide nucleic acid (PNA) to specifically target and suppress the wild-type K-ras allele in a PCR process, allowing for the detection of mutant alleles.
- This approach enabled detection of mutant K-ras in a ratio of 1:10,000 wild-type alleles and identified 19 mutations in 24 samples from pancreatic cancer patients, indicating its potential as a valuable tool for cancer screening and mutation detection in various diseases.