Pheochromocytomas (PHEOs) and paragangliomas (PGLs) are rare, neuroendocrine tumors derived from adrenal or extra-adrenal chromaffin cells, respectively. Metastases are discovered in 3-36% of patients at the time of diagnosis. Currently, only suboptimal treatment options exist. Therefore, new therapeutic compounds targeting metastatic PHEOs/PGLs are urgently needed. Here, we investigated if ant...

Cytokines are fundamental for a functioning immune system, and thus, potentially serve as important indicators of animal health. Quantitation of mRNA using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) is an established immunological technique. It is particularly suitable for detecting the expression of proteins against which monoclonal antibodies are not available. In ...

DNA adducts in unique sequences along the mammalian genome are mapped in vivo at single-nucleotide resolution. Pyrimidine (6-4) pyrimidone photoproducts [(6-4) photoproducts] represent one of the two major adduct classes found after UV irradiation of DNA and were shown to play an important role in UV-induced mutagenesis. After UV light treatment of cells, DNA is prepared and chemically cleaved ...

The origin of modern wheats involved alloploidization among related genomes. To determine if Aegilops speltoides was the donor of the B and G genomes in AABB and AAGG tetraploids, we used a 3-tiered approach. Using 70 amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) loci, we sampled molecular diversity among 480 wheat lines from their natural habitats encompassing all S genome Aegilops, the putati...

Real-time quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) is a powerful technique used for the relative quantification of target genes, using reference (housekeeping) genes for normalization to ensure the generation of accurate and robust data. A systematic examination of the suitability of endogenous reference genes for gene expression studies in endometrial cancer tissues is absent. The aims of this study were...

Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis is a commonly used method for the study of mRNA expression throughout the field of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) research. This technology is simple and sensitive; however the results may vary significantly due to the use of various reference genes (RGs) as normalizers. Therefore, the reliable use of RGs is vital for obtaining accurate result...

In human neuroblastoma, amplification of theMYCN gene predicts poor prognosis and resistance to therapy. Because hypoxia contributes to aggressive tumor phenotypes, predominantly via two structurally related hypoxia inducible factors, HIF-1a and HIF-2a, we examined hypoxia responses inMYCN-amplified neuroblastoma cells. We demonstrate here that HIF-1a, but not HIF-2a, is preferentially expresse...

There are no specific signs and symtoms for invasive candidiasis (IC), which makes its diagnosis a challenge. Efforts have been made for decades to establish serological assays for rapid diagnosis of IC, but none of them have found widespread clinical use. Using a systemic candiasis murine model, serological response to recombinant proteins of enolase (rEno1), phosphoglycerate kinase (rPgk1), a...

The function of the N-terminal amino acids of Saccharomyces cerevisiae hexokinase II was studied in vivo using strains producing a form of hexokinase II lacking its first 15 amino acids (short form). This short form of hexokinase II was produced from a fusion between the promoter region of the PGK1 gene and the HXK2 coding sequence except the first 15 codons. As expected, the in vitro analysis ...

The human papillomavirus (HPV) L1 major capsid protein, which forms the basis of the currently available vaccines against cervical cancer, self-assembles into virus-like particles (VLPs) when expressed heterologously. We report the development of a biotechnology platform for HPV16 L1 protein expression based on the constitutive PGK1 promoter (PPGK1) from the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris...