Under the banner “GeT Perfect”, Greiner Bio-One has kicked off the European promotion of the Greiner eHealth Technologies Solution – GeT.  For this purpose, a modern microsite in German and English has been created.  The one page site provides all essential information at a glance. GeT utilizes a flexible modular based software solution whilst applying the advantages of pre-barcoded VACUETTE tubes. The aim is to increase the efficiency of routine procedures in and around the laboratory. This page provides information on events, reference customers as well as study material. Testimonials from reference customers report on their experiences. Advantages of the system and working procedures can be seen in the form of videos and animation. All in all, the user has here a compact version of all initial information required for initiating any further steps.

www.gbo.com/get

Prostate cancer patients have been offered hope after scientists at Newcastle University have identified a new group of molecules that could be targeted to slow tumour growth.

Our findings are very significant for future treatments as they identify a new group of molecules in prostate cancer which could be targeted therapeutically. 

Experts used an advanced screening technique which found hundreds of genes were affected by the male hormone testosterone. It is believed this could lead to new diagnostic tests and treatments.

Among the 700 genes identified was an important set that add sugar groups – known as glycans – to the surface of prostate cancer cells. This group has never been investigated before.

Treatments targeting glycan sugar groups have been developed for other types of the illness, such as breast cancer. It is hoped these treatments could also be used for prostate cancer.

Results of the research suggest that testosterone changes glycans to make cancer cells more likely to survive, grow and spread to other parts of the body. 

Scientists say there is the potential to target these glycans which could stop the growth and spread of tumours and save lives.

Dr Jennifer Munkley, Research Associate at the Institute of Genetic Medicine, Newcastle University, co-led the three-year research project with Professor David Elliott.

She said: “Our findings are very significant for future treatments as they identify a new group of molecules in prostate cancer which could be targeted therapeutically.

“Now we have identified these glycans we will be able to develop strategies to inhibit them and help patients with this condition.

Glycans have the potential to be used as part of a diagnostic test to help doctors decide which prostate cancers need treatment.

One in eight men will be diagnosed with the condition. It is the most common cancer in UK males, and there is a need to identify how the disease progresses and for treatment options to be established.

Researchers at Newcastle University used a technique, called RNA-sequencing, to identify the new set of genes that are important.

The genes identified may provide novel ways the disease can be monitored in patients to predict the most aggressive prostate cancers that need to be treated.

Simon Grieveson, Head of Research Funding at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “There’s a desperate need for more treatments for men with advanced prostate cancer, who currently have too few options available to them.

“However, in order to develop new, effective treatments, we need to understand more about the genetic makeup of aggressive prostate cancers and identify what makes them tick.

“This promising research has unearthed a new group of genes which could play a part in cancer cell survival and development, and could pave the way for new treatments in the future.

Newcastle University www.ncl.ac.uk/press/news/2016/07/prostatecancerstudy/

Most melanomas are driven by mutations that spur out-of-control cell replication, while nevi (moles composed of non-cancerous cells at the skin surface) harbouring the same mutations do not grow wildly. However, changes in the level of gene expression can cause nevi to become melanomas.

Dermatologists surmise that 30 to 40 percent of melanomas (approximately 30,000 cases per year) may arise in association with a nevus. However, clinicians would like to be able to better distinguish between the two, especially in borderline cases when they examine skin tissue after a patient biopsy.

Senior author John T. Seykora, MD, PhD, a professor of Dermatology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, led a study that found that decreased levels of the gene p15 represents a way to determine if a nevus is transitioning to a melanoma. The protein p15 functions to inhibit nevus cell proliferation.

“We showed that p15 expression is a robust biomarker for distinguishing nevus from melanoma,” said Seykora. “Making this distinction has been a long-standing issue for dermatologists. We hope that this new finding will help doctors determine if a nevus has transformed to melanoma. This could help doctors and patients in difficult cases. Current research will hopefully move this into the realm of standard practice in about one to two years.”

Decreased expression in the related protein p16 has also been associated with melanoma, but p15 appears to be a primary driver of oncogene-induced cell senescence in nevus cells. When p15 levels drop, then nevus cells begin to grow.

The team stained human nevus and melanoma tissue samples with p15 and p16 antibodies.  Staining was evaluated and graded for percentage and intensity to determine an “H score,” which correlates with the level of protein in the cells. This approach could also form the basis of a clinical determination, taking the form of an antibody test for p15 from a patient’s biopsy specimen. “If the staining level is high then that would be most consistent with a benign nevus,” Seykora said. “If the staining level is low then that would be consistent with a melanoma.”

RNA was also extracted from 14 nevus and melanoma tissue samples to determine levels of p15 mRNA.  The expression of p15 mRNA was significantly increased in melanocytic nevi compared with melanomas as determined by real-time quantitative RT-PCR analysis.

Penn Medicine www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/2016/11/seykora/

Distribution of single nucleotide variant (SNV) counts detected through exome sequencing of melanoma samples, grouped by the presence of R alleles of the MC1R locus shown as a boxplot with median, quartiles, whiskers and outliers.

For the first time, researchers at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and University of Leeds have proved that gene variants associated with red hair, pale skin and freckles are linked to a higher number of genetic mutations in skin cancers. The burden of mutations associated with these variants is comparable to an extra 21 years of sun exposure in people without this variant.

The research showed that even a single copy of a red hair-associated MC1R gene variant increased the number of mutations in melanoma skin cancer; the most serious form of skin cancer. Many non-red haired people carry these common variants and the study shows that everyone needs to be careful about sun exposure.

Red-headed people make up between one and two percent of the world’s population but about 6 per cent of the UK population. They have two copies of a variant of the MC1R gene which affects the type of melanin pigment they produce, leading to red hair, freckles, pale skin and a strong tendency to burn in the sun.

“It has been known for a while that a person with red hair has an increased likelihood of developing skin cancer, but this is the first time that the gene has been proven to be associated with skin cancers with more mutations.’

‘Unexpectedly, we also showed that people with only a single copy of the gene variant still have a much higher number of tumour mutations than the rest of the population.  This is one of the first examples of a common genetic profile having a large impact on a cancer genome and could help better identify people at higher risk of developing skin cancer.”

Dr David Adams, joint lead researcher at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
The researchers analysed publically available data-sets of tumour DNA sequences collected from more than 400 people. They found an average of 42 per cent more sun-associated mutations in tumours from people carrying the gene variant.

“This is the first study to look at how the inherited MC1R gene affects the number of spontaneous mutations in skin cancers and has significant implications for understanding how skin cancers form. It has only been possible due to the large-scale data available. The tumours were sequenced in the USA, from patients all over the world and the data was made freely accessible to all researchers. This study illustrates how important international collaboration and free public access to data-sets is to research.”

Exposure to ultraviolet light from either sunlight or sunbeds causes damage to DNA and it has been thought that the type of skin pigment associated with red-heads could allow more UV to reach the DNA.  While this may be one mechanism of damage, the study also revealed that the MC1R gene variation not only increased the number of spontaneous mutations caused by ultraviolet light, but also raised the level of other mutations in the tumours.  This suggests that biological processes exist in cancer development in people with MC1R variation that are not solely related to ultraviolet light.

“This important research explains why red-haired people have to be so careful about covering up in strong sun. It also underlines that it isn’t just people with red hair who need to protect themselves from too much sun. People who tend to burn rather than tan, or who have fair skin, hair or eyes, or who have freckles or moles are also at higher risk.’

Sanger Institute www.sanger.ac.uk/news/view/red-hair-gene-variant-drives-skin-cancer-mutations

The latest developments in prenatal technology conceived by scientists at the Wayne State University School of Medicine that make it possible to test for genetic disorders a little more than one month into pregnancy were revealed.
In the article, the WSU researchers wrote that their non-invasive testing method – Trophoblast Retrieval and Isolation from the Cervix (TRIC) – offers the accuracy of more invasive tests, such as the needle-directed amniocentesis, and can also be utilized five to 10 weeks earlier than current testing modalities.
TRIC was first publicized in 2014 in studies led by principal investigator and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology D. Randall Armant, Ph.D. The method isolates several hundred foetal cells that migrate from the placenta into the uterus using a retrieval technique akin to the common Pap smear, and can be done as early as five weeks into pregnancy.
Armant’s co-principal investigator in the latest research is Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology Sascha Drewlo, Ph.D., who joined the team in 2014 to provide expertise in molecular biology and perinatal medicine.

A related paper published by the two “Altered Biomarkers in Trophoblast Cells Obtained Noninvasively Prior to Clinical Manifestation of Perinatal Disease,” describes the correlation between the levels of certain proteins in the foetal cells isolated by TRIC during the first trimester and the development of intrauterine growth restriction, which results in a small, undernourished foetus in the womb, or preeclampsia – hypertension and kidney disorder of the mother – in the last trimester.

“This finding suggests that it might one day be possible to test these protein levels to identify pregnancies at risk for complications. Such a test could help physicians to better manage the health of mother and baby, and would streamline research on new interventions to prevent or limit the effects of disease,” Armant said.

The paper demonstrates the researchers’ ability to isolate foetal DNA from the cells obtained by TRIC. Since the placenta is derived from the embryo and its DNA is the same as that of the foetus, the researchers can use cells obtained by TRIC for prenatal genetic testing. The paper was co-first authored by Chandni Jain, Ph.D., and Leena Kadam, working in the laboratories of Armant and Drewlo.
“We sequenced the foetal DNA and compared it to that of the mothers, proving that they were different, but the foetal DNA always contained one copy of the mother’s DNA genes. We also had some DNA from the placenta and found that it was identical to the foetal DNA,” Armant said.

The sequencing was completed in 20 consecutive pregnancies collected at five to 19 weeks, with minimal maternal DNA contamination.

Wayne State Universityresearch.wayne.edu/news/studies-reveal-wsu-conceived-non-invasive-prenatal-genetic-test-is-accurate-five-weeks-into-pregnancy-21140