前沿科技及其它

Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) was introduced 20 years ago (1) as a gel system to separate DNA fragments. The seminal principle of this methodologic conquest was that DNA molecules were not separated according to size, as in conventional electrophoresis, but rather, acco ...

In recent years, we have seen a dramatic improvement in our ability to detect nucleotide changes in tumor DNA using a number of techniques for mutation detection that have become routine instruments in many laboratories. The choice of a suitable method or methods of mutation analysis is governed ...

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has revolutionized the isolation and analysis of nucleic acid fragments from a wide variety of sources. PCR-based methods for nucleic acid detection and fingerprinting have become vital to modern molecular genetics, whether for the analysis of popu ...

Many types of human leukemias and lymphomas are associated with specific chromosomal translocations that correlate with specific histologic and immunologic phenotypes (1). Anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL) of T-cell or null-cell lineage is a clinically aggressive non-H ...

A number of leukemia-specific chromosomal translocations have been identified that have been cloned and are appropriate markers for molecular studies (Table 1) (1–4). In addition, leukemia nonspecific clonality markers, such as the junctional region of the rearranged immunoglo ...

Microsatellites are tandem repeats of simple sequence, 2–6 bp, that occur abundantly and at random throughout most eukaryotic genomes. They are typically short, often

Cancer is a genetic disease. Gene mutations are not only responsible for rare hereditary forms of human cancer, but for the sporadic forms of human malignancies as well. Many of these specific genetic defects in cancer cells can be visualized as chromosomal aberrations. Conventional cytoge ...

Molecular genetic investigations of human tumors have increased our understanding of the mechanistic relationship between chromosome abnormalities and cancer. In leukemias and lymphomas, for which extensive karyotypic analysis has been possible, specific translocat ...

Cytogenetic analysis plays a pivotal role in the diagnosis and management of patients with hematologic malignancies. In research, the identification of specific chromosomal rearrangements associated with defined clinical groups has led to an explosion in the knowledge of basic m ...

Cancer is a complex disease occurring as a result of a progressive accumulation of genetic aberrations and epigenetic changes that enable escape from normal cellular and environmental controls (1). Neoplastic cells may have numerous acquired genetic abnormalities including ane ...

The mainstay of clinical antineoplastic chemotherapy is multiagent combinations, most of which were developed empirically. Because of the desire to speed research and decrease costs, there is increasing interest in moving new drugs into clinical trials in potentially active comb ...

There has been an explosion in the number of potential molecular targets that can be explored for selective cancer treatment. The stage is now set to translate years of productive cancer research into more patient-friendly anticancer therapeutics. At present, the challenge is how to identi ...

In the study of multi-modality therapy or combined chemotherapy, it is of interest to determine whether the combined effects of two agents are additive or whether their combination is substantially different from the sum of their parts (1,2). While controversy and discussion continue and n ...

The accumulation of cells characteristic of neoplastic disease results from the combination of unrestrained cell growth and diminished cell death. One form of programmed cell death, apoptosis (a Greek neologism meaning “dropping off” that conjures images of leaves falling from a tree ...

Most hematological malignancies have clonal cells that reside in the bone marrow environment, and their analysis is critical for diagnosis (1). In the process of procuring a clinical sample, research samples are frequently obtained, and their prompt and appropriate management should ...

Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK) are serine/threonine kinases that regulate cell cycle control and progression (1,2). A CDK holoenzyme complex is active if associated with its cyclin partner and if the complex is phosphorylated at specific activating residues (threonine 160/161) (1 ...

The Ataxia Telangiectasia mutated (ATM) and the ATM and Rad3-related (ATR) proteins function in partially overlapping DNA damage checkpoint pathways that orchestrate the cellular response to DNA damage. Both proteins belong to a growing family of serine/threonine-directed kina ...

Tumor reactive monoclonal antibodies (mAb) have been developed and tested as anti-tumor therapy. Some mAb have shown efficacy and are now approved as clinical cancer therapy. The mechanism of action for the antitumor effect includes tumor cell destruction by effector cells with Fc recept ...

Selectins form a group of C-type lectins, which bind to carbohydrates in a calcium dependent manner. Three selectins, E-, L-, and P-selectins are known. All selectins bind to sialyl Lewis X (sLex). E-selectin (endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 or ELAM-1; CD62E) is expressed in the endothelial c ...

Angiogenesis is necessary for growth and metastasis of cancer. It is comprised of several distinct steps, including degradation of extracellular matrix, cell migration, proliferation, and structural reorganization (1). Inhibition of angiogenesis has been shown in pre-clinic ...