Generation of Rapid and High-Quality Serum by Recombinant Prothrombin Activator Ecarin (RAPClot™).

We recently reported the potential application of recombinant prothrombin activator ecarin (RAPClot™) in blood diagnostics. In a new study, we describe RAPClot™ as an additive to develop a novel blood collection prototype tube that produces the highest quality serum for accurate biochemical analyte determination. The drying process of the RAPClot™ tube generated minimal effect on the enzymatic activity of the prothrombin activator.

Potential Application of Recombinant Snake Prothrombin Activator Ecarin in Blood Diagnostics.

We describe here the purification and cloning of a codon-optimized form of the snake prothrombin activator ecarin from the saw scaled viper () expressed in mammalian cells. Expression of recombinant ecarin (rEcarin) was carried out in human embryonic kidney cells (HEK) cells under conditions for the development and performance of a novel and scalable recombinant snake ecarin to industry standards. Clotting performance of the rEcarin was established in recalcified citrated whole blood, plasma, and fresh whole blood and found to be comparable to native ecarin (N-Ecarin).

Development of molecular clamp stabilized hemagglutinin vaccines for Influenza A viruses.

Influenza viruses cause a significant number of infections and deaths annually. In addition to seasonal infections, the risk of an influenza virus pandemic emerging is extremely high owing to the large reservoir of diverse influenza viruses found in animals and the co-circulation of many influenza subtypes which can reassort into novel strains. Development of a universal influenza vaccine has proven extremely challenging.

Design and Fabrication of the Vertical-Flow Bioreactor for Compaction Hepatocyte Culture in Drug Testing Application.

The perfusion culture of primary hepatocytes has been widely adopted to build bioreactors for various applications. As a drug testing platform, a unique vertical-flow bioreactor (VfB) array was found to create the compaction culture of hepatocytes which mimicked the mechanic microenvironment in vivo while maintaining the 3D cell morphology in a 2D culture setup and enhancing the hepatic functions for a sustained culture. Here, we report the methodology in designing and fabricating the VfB to reach ideal bioreactor requirements, optimizing the VfB as a prototype for drug testing, and to demonstrate the enhanced hepatic function so as to demonstrate the performance of the bioreactor.

MiR-29b-1-5p is altered in BRCA1 mutant tumours and is a biomarker in basal-like breast cancer.

Depletion of BRCA1 protein in mouse mammary glands results in defects in lactational development and increased susceptibility to mammary cancer. Extensive work has focussed on the role of BRCA1 in the normal breast and in the development of breast cancer, the cell of origin for BRCA1 tumours and the protein-coding genes altered in BRCA1 deficient cells. However, the role of non-coding RNAs in BRCA1-deficient cells is poorly understood.

A vertical-flow bioreactor array compacts hepatocytes for enhanced polarity and functions.

Although hepatocytes in vivo experience intra-abdominal pressure (IAP), pressure is typically not incorporated in hepatocyte culture systems. The cuboidal cell shape and extent of intercellular contact between cultured hepatocytes are critical parameters that influence the differentiated hepatic phenotype. Using a microfluidic device, the application of pressure to artificially compact cells and forge cell-cell interactions was previously demonstrated to be effective in accelerating hepatic repolarization.

Butein and Its Role in Chronic Diseases.

Natural compounds isolated from various plant sources have been used for therapeutic purpose for centuries. These compounds have been routinely used for the management of various chronic ailments and have gained considerable attention because of their significant efficacy and comparatively low side effects. Butein, a chacolnoid compound that has been isolated from various medicinal plants has exhibited a wide range of beneficial pharmacological effects, such as anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antioxidant, and anti-angiogenic in diverse disease models.

Constrained spheroids for prolonged hepatocyte culture.

Liver-specific functions in primary hepatocytes can be maintained over extended duration in vitro using spheroid culture. However, the undesired loss of cells over time is still a major unaddressed problem, which consequently generates large variations in downstream assays such as drug screening. In static culture, the turbulence generated by medium change can cause spheroids to detach from the culture substrate.

Preparation of three-dimensional interconnected macroporous cellulosic hydrogels for soft tissue engineering.

This work exploits the thermal responsive phase behavior of hydroxypropylcellulose to produce 3D interconnected macroporous hydrogels in aqueous environment. Hydroxypropylcellulose was modified with allyl isocyanate, and their temperature mediated phase behavior was studied as a function of degree of modification (DS). A derivative with a DS of 1.

1H, 13C and 15N chemical shift assignments for the N-terminal domain of the voltage-gated potassium channel-hERG.

The human ether à go-go related gene (hERG) voltage-gated potassium controls the rapid delayed rectifier potassium current (I(ks)) in heart. The N-terminal 135 amino acids (NTD) form a Per-Arnt-Sim (PAS) domain which involves in signal transduction and protein-protein interactions. NTD was shown to be necessary for the regulation of the channel activity through its interaction with the channel pore region of hERG.

Integrating sensitive quantification of hepatic metabolic functions by capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection.

We report the establishment of capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence (CE-LIF) detection as a common analytical platform for sensitive quantification of both phase I and II metabolism in various hepatic in vitro models.