Engineering scFvs for improved stability.
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Amino Acid Sequence↗
Biomedical subjects
George Vasmatzis
Publications and source records attributed to George Vasmatzis.
Identification of differentially expressed genes in normal and malignant prostate by electronic profiling of expressed sequence tags.
Differentially expressed genes between corresponding normal and cancertissue can advance our understanding of the molecular basis of malignancy and potentially serve as biomarkers or prognostic markers of malignancy. To identify differentially expressed genes in prostate cancer, we used a procedure combining electronic expression profiling of the prostate expressed sequence tag (EST) database and molecular biology techniques. A novel electronic expression-profiling algorithm was developed to search publicly available EST sequences for genes that show significant differential expression in prostate cancer compared with normal prostate tissue. Approximately 600 genes expressed in prostate were identified through adequate EST counts of ESTs for electronic profiling. Of these 600 genes, 9 showed statistically significant differences in their EST counts between cancer and normal prostate and were further analyzed. The predictions associated with electronic profiling were experimentally verified for two genes, cysteine-rich secretory protein 3 (CRISP-3) and deadenylating nuclease (DAN), using real-time reverse transcription-PCR with total RNA extracted from cells isolated by laser capture microdissection. In five of five Gleason score 6 cancer cases, CRISP-3 expression was increased >50 fold, whereas the expression of DAN was reduced by >80%.
Algorithms↗
Cysteine-rich secretory protein-3: a potential biomarker for prostate cancer.
Electronic profiling of publicly available expressed sequence tag databases identified a gene, cysteine-rich secretoryprotein-3 (CRISP-3), that is up-regulated in prostate cancer, and of which the expression is relatively prostate-specific. The objective of this study was to examine the potential of CRISP-3 as a biomarker for prostate cancer. In transient transfection studies, CRISP-3 was found to be a secretory protein. Using a multiple tissue dot blot experiment, CRISP-3 transcript was identified in a limited number of human tissues including the prostate. In situ hybridization experiments indicated that CRISP-3 mRNA is epithelial-specific and is up-regulated in prostate adenocarcinoma compared with benign prostate tissue. CRISP-3 mRNA overexpression in cancer was confirmed using quantitative real-time reverse-transcription-PCR using benign prostatic epithelia and adenocarcinoma (in 5 of 5 cases) isolated by laser capture microdissection, as well as bulk tissues (in 20 of 23 cases) from surgically resected human prostates. These findings suggest that CRISP-3 is a potential biomarker for prostate cancer.
Adenocarcinoma↗
Discovery of ovarian cancer biomarkers in serum using NanoLC electrospray ionization TOF and FT-ICR mass spectrometry.
Treatment of cancer patients is greatly facilitated by detection of the cancer prior to metastasis. One of the obstacles to early cancer detection is the lack of availability of biomarkers with sufficient specificity. With modem differential proteomic techniques, the potential exists to identify high specificity cancer biomarkers. We have delineated a set of protocols for the isolation and identification of serum biomarkers for ovarian cancer that exist in the low molecular weight serum fraction. After isolation of the low molecular weight fraction by ultrafiltration, the potential biomarkers are separated by reversed phase nano liquid chromatography. Detection via TOF or FT-ICR yields a data set for each sample. We compared stage III/IV ovarian cancer serum with postmenopausal age-matched controls. Using bioinformatics tools developed at Mayo, we normalized each sample for intensity and chromatographic alignment. Normalized data sets are subsequently compared and potential biomarkers identified. Several candidate biomarkers were found. One of these contains the sequence of fibrinopeptide-A known to be elevated in many types of cancer including ovarian cancer. The protocols utilized will be examined and would be applicable to a wide variety of cancers or disease states.
Amino Acid Sequence↗