A nCounter CNV Assay to Detect HER2 Amplification: A Correlation Study with Immunohistochemistry and In Situ Hybridization in Advanced Gastric Cancer.

Aim: Screening amplified genes for targeted therapy with high-throughput technology is very important. The NanoString nCounter system allows multiplexed digital quantification of target molecules through the use of color-coded barcodes with the great advantage that formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue can be utilized.

Methods: We tested nCounter custom copy number variation (CNV) panels in 220 gastric cancer samples and evaluated the utility of this method as a screening tool for the detection of CNV using HER2.

Two-dimensional electrophoresis analyses of atopic dermatitis and the chances to detect new candidate proteins by the variations in immobilized pH gradient strips.

Background: Proteomic approaches, one of the high-throughput technologies, have been used to search for the proteins that are abnormally expressed in human diseases. The atopic dermatitis (AD)-associated genes or proteins are gradually being reported.

Objective: In accordance with recent reports, we conducted the serial proteomic studies to compare with the protein expression level and to find a critical protein associated with AD.

Detection of down-regulated acetaldehyde dehydrogenase 1 in atopic dermatitis patients by two-dimensional electrophoresis.

We conducted the proteomic studies to detect the dysregulated proteins in the atopic dermatitis (AD) proteome obtained from the patient-derived primary cultured fibroblasts. Acetaldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1) was detected as being significantly down-regulated at the pH ranges of 6-9 and 4-7. The transcriptional levels of ALDH1, as detected by RT-PCR and real-time PCR, further confirmed the down-regulated phenomena for all the AD-fibroblasts (n = 20).

Complex inhibition of tyrosinase by thiol-composed Cu2+ chelators: a clue for designing whitening agents.

The inhibition of tyrosinase has attracted considerable attention for potential medicinal and cosmetic applications, as well as in agriculture. This study investigated the inhibition effects of thiol-associated Cu(2+) chelators and deduced a strategy for designing and/or selecting tyrosinase inhibitors. Among the several compounds tested, dithioglycerine (DTGC) was selected for further experiments on the inhibition kinetics on tyrosinase.

TXM13 human melanoma cells: a novel source for the inhibition kinetics of human tyrosinase and for screening whitening agents.

Research involving whitening agents requires several steps of experimentation, and the initial step is to test whitening agents with human melanocytes and those with human tyrosinase. Unfortunately, it takes a long time to gather human melanocytes, and these cells have some limitations when it comes to performing experiments, such as their passage difficulties and their cost. In this study, we suggest that the TXM13 human melanoma cells could be a useful cell candidate for studying human tyrosinase inhibition and depigmentation.

Two-dimensional electrophoretic profiling of atopic dermatitis in primary cultured keratinocytes from patients.

Recently, we reported altered protein expression in primary cultured fibroblasts from atopic dermatitis (AD) patients. As a sequential study, we conducted proteomic analysis of primary keratinocytes derived from AD patients to further identify AD-related proteins. Three pH ranges, 4-7, 6-9, and 7-11, were used to profile the altered protein expression in AD.

A new type of uncompetitive inhibition of tyrosinase induced by Cl- binding.

A new type of Cl- induced inhibition of mushroom derived tyrosinase has been detected in this study, and it is defined as the reversible partial hyperbolic uncompetitive inhibition. The Cl- binding site was only induced at the state of the enzyme-substrate complex, and this was confirmed with the intrinsic fluorescence changes. As the oxygen bridge is broken by L-DOPA binding, Cl- simultaneously binds to the ES state to form the ESI complex.