Stephanie L. Larson,
Christine E. Gilling, Kimberly A. Carlson
Abstract
OTK18, a transcriptional suppressor with putative anti-retroviral
properties, is found at the highest levels in severe human
immunodeficiency virus type-1 encephalitic brains. The role of OTK18
up-regulation in neuronal survival and corresponding responses of
tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and neurotrophin 3 (NT3) was
examined. Rat pheochromocytoma cells were transfected with either
pEGFP-OTK18 or empty vector, glutamate treated, and cell viability
assessed. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and
enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay analyses showed significant
up-regulation of TNF-α
message and protein
in pEGFP-OTK18 transfected cells compared to controls. These
results suggest a potential role for OTK18 in regulating TNF-α
and subsequent neuronal demise.
Full Article
Application of the Gene-Ratio Method in the Diagnosis and
Prognosis of a Variety of Human Diseases. Nathan Gaines,
Christine O’Rourke, Pattle Pun, Gavin Gordon
Abstract
A simple, highly accurate gene
expression ratio-based methodology has been shown to be useful in the
diagnosis and prognosis of cancer. This “Gene-Ratio Method” affords many
advantages over similarly accurate mRNA-based assays that make it more
suitable for clinical applications. It was determined that the gene
ratio technique could be generally applied to other publicly available
gene expression data representing a variety of normal and diseased human
tissue types. This technique was able to distinguish in a statistically
significant manner between normal and tumor tissues as well as among
different tumor types and benign diseases using data from both cDNA and
oligonucleotide microarray platforms.
Full Article
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