Project description:Accrue samples for the further development and clinical validation of a blood-based cell-free DNA (cfDNA) quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay as a potential biomarker for early non-response to therapy in stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), colorectal cancer (CRC) and breast cancer (BC).
Project description:Extracellular RNA (exRNA) is an emerging paradigm as endocrine signals in cellular communication, biomarker development, therapeutic applications and systemic physiology. This project is to test the hypothesis that salivary extracellular RNA (exRNA) can be developed for the clinical detection of human diseases. Our laboratory first reported the existence of a transcriptome and microRNA profile in cell free saliva followed by its scientific characterizations and clinical utilities including biomarker development for molecular oncology applications. Most recently we have performed RNA-sequencing in cell free saliva and reported three major types of RNA in saliva (mRNA, miRNA and snoRNA). This study is to test the hypothesis that salivary exRNA can be developed to detect gastric cancer by performing a biomarker development study to definitively validate salivary exRNA biomarkers for the detection of gastric cancer.
Project description:Pivotal trials of SDC2 methylation biomarker test in stool DNA to estimate clinical sensitivity and specificity in detection of colorectal cancer.
Project description:The DNA methylation patterns associated with the development and progression of cancer. The aim of the present study was to identify novel methylation markers that can discriminate between normal and Non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), and between good and poor prognosis using microarray analysis of DNA methylation and RNA expression patterns in NMIBC patients. From the 24 matched microarray-based DNA methylation and gene expression profiling data set, tumor specific hypermethylated genes were selected and clinical relevance of these genes were verified by quantitative PQS analyses. Methylation statues of several genes were significantly associated with decreased gene expression levels and aggressive clinicopathological characteristics. In multivariate regression analyses, hypermethylation of these genes were the independent predictors of recurrence and progression. Genomic DNA was extracted by standard methods using the Wizard Genomic DNA Purification System (Promega, Madison, WI). Total RNA was extracted with TRIzol reagent (Life Technologies, NY) according to the manufacturer’s protocol. Methylation patterns were assayed using the genome-wide Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation27 BeadChip array (Illumina Inc., San Diego, CA). Methylation assays were carried out according to the manufacturer’s protocol. Bisulfite conversion of genomic DNA was performed using the EZ DNA Methylation Kit (Zymo Research, Orange, CA). Fluorescence signals corresponding to C or T nucleotides were measured and the data were used to assign a quantitative measure of methylation level (β value). The β value is a quantitative measure of DNA methylation levels of specific CpGs and ranges from 0 for completely unmethylated to 1 for completely methylated.
Project description:We aimed to identify a clinically useful biomarker using DNA methylation-based information to optimize the management of glioblastoma (GBM) patients. We identified a novel six-CpGs signature that predicts the clinical outcome in GBM. The methylation profiling of 79 GBM patients has been used as a validation cohort to demonstrate the performance and the robustness of the identified six-CpGs signature. The status of the âMGMTâ biomarker, traditionally used by clinicians to predict survival in GBM, is also indicated per sample.
Project description:Hepatocytes that have differentiated from human embryonic stem cells have great potential for the treatment of liver disease as well as for drug testing. Moreover, in vitro hepatogenesis is a powerful model system for studying the molecular mechanisms underlying liver development. DNA methylation is an important epigenetic mechanism that influences differential gene expression during embryonic development. We profiled gene expression and DNA methylation of three cell states of in vitro hepatogenesis—human embryonic stem cells, endoderm progenitors, and mature hepatocytes—using microarray analysis. Among 525 state-specific expressed genes, 67 showed significant negative correlation between gene expression and DNA methylation. State-specific expression and methylation of target genes were validated by quantitative reverse transcription–PCR and pyrosequencing, respectively. To elucidate genome-scale methylation changes beyond the promoter, we also performed high-throughput sequencing of methylated DNA captured by MBD2 protein [see SRA link below]. We found dynamic methylation changes in intergenic regions of the human genome during differentiation. Conclusion: This study provides valuable methylation markers for the lineage commitment of in vitro hepatogenesis and should help elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying stem cell differentiation and liver development. ES, EP, and MH methylation assays were run in triplicate. Genomic DNA (1 µg) from each sample was bisulfite converted using the EZ DNA methylation kit (Zymo Research, Orange, CA), and 200 ng of the converted DNA was used for amplification. Amplified DNA was hybridized to the Infinium HumanMethylation27 BeadChip (Illumina), which analyzes the methylation status of 27,578 CpG sites selected from more than 14,495 well-annotated genes. The arrays were imaged using the BeadArray Reader, and image processing and extraction of intensity data were performed according to Illumina’s instructions. Each methylation signal was used to compute the β value, which is a quantitative measure of DNA methylation ranging from 0 (for completely unmethylated cytosines) to 1 (for completely methylated cytosines).
Project description:DNA methylation changes at CpG and non-CpG sites are associated with development and clinical behavior in neuroblastoma [methylation]