Posters

Cell colony formation assays measure a cell's ability to grow unattached to a surface and have applications in a range of areas including hematopoietic stem cell research, cell transformation studies and the prediction of responses of tumors to chemotherapeutic agents. The results of this study demonstrated that Acumen eX3 can be used as a high-throughput platform for investigation of effects of test compounds and RNAi reagents on cell colony formation.

Expression of miR15a/16-1 was increased using lentiviral delivery (in vitro and in vivo) or by BSAP knockdown to inhibit B-CLL malignancy.

In this study, we demonstrated that a combination therapy using suboptimal doses of HDACi and calpeptin, an inhibitor of calpain, produced synergistic type growth inhibition and reduced cancer cell motility in cancer cells. We hypothesize that the re-expression of tumor suppressor genes by demethylation and other mechanisms sensitize the cells and allows for apoptotic death.

This study explores the potential of multiple gene knockdown in acute myeloid leukemia of pivotal genes controlling the MAPK pathway using RNA interference. Results demonstrate that blocking a major signaling pathway is more complicated than just knocking down the expression of a few genes.

Methamphetamine (meth) abuse and HIV infection are public health risks that in combination produce a “double epidemic.” MicroRNAs (miRs) were shown to be involved in CNS development, neuronal homeostasis, and brain disease. Past studies linked miR124 and let7-d with cocaine addiction. Our goal was to determine whether miRs were differentially expressed in HIV-infected individuals with a recent history of meth abuse and to identify the neurocognitive correlates.

Existing methods for miRNA quantification rely on sequence-dependent probes or chemically modified primers for optimal specificity and often require RNA isolation that is time-consuming labour-intensive and which increase sample variability We have developed a high performance approach for multiplexed detection of mature miRNAs termed modified stem-loop mediated reverse transcription quantitative PCR (mSMRT-qPCR).

The Nucleofector® Technology enables efficient and reproducible transfection of primary cells and cell lines at throughputs of up to 96 samples per run. Nucleofection® now extends its range of application to deliver small molecules substrates and protein substrates such as peptides, proteins and antibodyconjugates.

The majority of marketed drugs are natural compounds or derivatives thereof. The compounds availability is often unclear. Therefore we have compiled a database of ~50,000 natural compounds. Starting point for in silico screenings are about 2,500 well-known, classified natural compounds or imported molecules. Possible medical applications can be detected and about three million conformers computed to account for the flexibility during usage of the 3D-superposition algorithm.

In diabetic animals there is marked muscle atrophy, but the molecular mechanisms underlying muscle wasting are still unclear. Our in silico analysis and the inverse correlation between let-7b and Akt1 expression in soleus of diabetic animals indicated Akt1 as a potential let-7b target. The assays of luciferase and inhibition of endogenous expression of Akt1 with mimic let-7b were used to validate Akt1 as a direct target of let-7b.