Noninvasive prenatal diagnosis of fetal aneuploidy by circulating fetal nucleated red blood cells and extravillous trophoblasts using silicon-based nanostructured microfluidics.

Background: Noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) based on cell-free DNA in maternal circulation has been accepted worldwide by the clinical community since 2011 but limitations, such as maternal malignancy and fetoplacental mosaicism, preclude its full replacement of invasive prenatal diagnosis. We present a novel silicon-based nanostructured microfluidics platform named as "Cell Reveal™" to demonstrate the feasibility of capturing circulating fetal nucleated red blood cells (fnRBC) and extravillous cytotrophoblasts (EVT) for cell-based noninvasive prenatal diagnosis (cbNIPD).

Methods: The "Cell Reveal™" system is a silicon-based, nanostructured microfluidics using immunoaffinity to capture the trophoblasts and the nucleated RBC (nRBC) with specific antibodies.

Correction to: Prognostic Features of Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 in an ER(+) Breast Cancer Model System.

[This corrects the article on p. 21 in vol. 13, PMID: 24526833.

Prognostic features of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 in an ER(+) breast cancer model system.

The aberrantly expressed signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) predicts poor prognosis, primarily in estrogen receptor positive (ER(+)) breast cancers. Activated STAT3 is overexpressed in luminal A subtype cells. The mechanisms contributing to the prognosis and/or subtype relevant features of STAT3 in ER(+) breast cancers are through multiple interacting regulatory pathways, including STAT3-MYC, STAT3-ERα, and STAT3-MYC-ERα interactions, as well as the direct action of activated STAT3.

Major Functional Transcriptome of an Inferred Center Regulator of an ER(-) Breast Cancer Model System.

We aimed to find clinically relevant gene activities ruled by the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) proteins in an ER(-) breast cancer population via network approach. STAT3 is negatively associated with both lymph nodal category and stage. MYC is a component of STAT3 network.

Genome-wide gene expression analysis implicates the immune response and lymphangiogenesis in the pathogenesis of fetal chylothorax.

Fetal chylothorax (FC) is a rare condition characterized by lymphocyte-rich pleural effusion. Although its pathogenesis remains elusive, it may involve inflammation, since there are increased concentrations of proinflammatory mediators in pleural fluids. Only a few hereditary lymphedema-associated gene loci, e.

TCF12 protein functions as transcriptional repressor of E-cadherin, and its overexpression is correlated with metastasis of colorectal cancer.

A correlation of TCF12 mRNA overexpression with colorectal cancer (CRC) metastasis was suggested by microarray data and validated by the survey of 120 patients. Thirty-three (27.5%) of the 120 patients showed tumor TCF12 mRNA overexpression and had a higher rate of metastatic occurrence (p = 0.

A review of photocatalysts prepared by sol-gel method for VOCs removal.

The sol-gel process is a wet-chemical technique (chemical solution deposition), which has been widely used in the fields of materials science, ceramic engineering, and especially in the preparation of photocatalysts. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are prevalent components of indoor air pollution. Among the approaches to remove VOCs from indoor air, photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) is regarded as a promising method.

Statistical identification of gene association by CID in application of constructing ER regulatory network.

Background: A variety of high-throughput techniques are now available for constructing comprehensive gene regulatory networks in systems biology. In this study, we report a new statistical approach for facilitating in silico inference of regulatory network structure. The new measure of association, coefficient of intrinsic dependence (CID), is model-free and can be applied to both continuous and categorical distributions.

Gene expression variation increase in trisomy 21 tissues.

Congenital development disorders with variable severity occur in trisomy 21. However, how these phenotypic abnormalities develop with variations remains elusive. We hypothesize that the differences in euploid gene expression variation among trisomy 21 tissues are caused by the presence of an extra copy of chromosome 21 and may contribute to the phenotypic variations in Down syndrome.

Comparison and identification of estrogen-receptor related gene expression profiles in breast cancer of different ethnic origins.

The interactions between genetic variants in estrogen receptor (ER) have been identified to be associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. Available evidence indicates that genetic variance within a population plays a crucial role in the occurrence of breast cancer. Thus, the comparison and identification of ER-related gene expression profiles in breast cancer of different ethnic origins could be useful for the development of genetic variant cancer therapy.

Identification of ten novel genes involved in human spermatogenesis by microarray analysis of testicular tissue.

Objective: To identify novel genes that are down-regulated in the testicular tissue of infertile men.

Design: Prospective study.

Setting: University-based reproductive clinics and genetics laboratory.

Distinct gene expression profiles in gastric epithelial cells induced by different clinical isolates of Helicobacter pylori--implication of bacteria and host interaction in gastric carcinogenesis.

Background/aims: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is a major risk factor of peptic ulcer, gastric cancer, and gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma. The interplay between H.

Gene expression profiling of gastric cancer by microarray combined with laser capture microdissection.

Aim: To examine the gene expression profile of gastric cancer (GC) by combination of laser capture microdissection (LCM) and microarray and to correlate the profiling with histological subtypes.

Methods: Using LCM, pure cancer cells were procured from 45 cancerous tissues. After procurement of about 5000 cells, total RNA was extracted and the quality of RNA was determined before further amplification and hybridization.

Linear plasmid SLP2 of Streptomyces lividans is a composite replicon.

SLP2 is a 50 kb linear plasmid in Streptomyces lividans that contains short (44 bp) terminal inverted repeats and covalently bound terminal proteins. The nucleotide sequence of SLP2 was determined. The rightmost 15.

Streptomyces genomes: circular genetic maps from the linear chromosomes.

Streptomyces chromosomes are linear DNA molecules and yet their genetic maps based on linkage analysis are circular. The only other known examples of this phenomenon are in the bacteriophages T2 and T4, the linear genomic sequences of which are circularly permuted and terminally redundant, and in which replication intermediates include long concatemers. These structural and functional features are not found in Streptomyces.