Latest Posters

Marker substrates for certain CYPs have changed for several reasons, including the need for improved selectivity and sensitivity, reliable substrates for LC/MS/MS analysis, and substrates that provide greater repeatability. The objectives of this study were to compare sample-to-sample variation in cytochrome P450 enzymatic rates between two or more CYP-specific substrates and to determine Michaelis-Menten kinetic constants for these same reactions using a pool of human liver microsomes.

The study explores the structural requirements of flavones for inhibition of aromatase activity. The QSAR analysis generates the model that shows the importance of flavone ring and with molecular lipophilicity. Presence of additional aromatic ring and m-hydroxy substitution on that ring increases inhibitory activity. Space modeling study further adjudged the presence of hydrogen bond acceptor, hydrophobic and aromatic ring and critical distance among features for the inhibitory activity.

Tyrosine kinases are important regulators in cellular processes. Kinases have been found to be involved in diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular, therefore, molecules that modulate kinase function are expected to be promising new drug targets. In this poster, we will describe the performance of an AlphaScreen™ (amplified luminescent proximity homogeneous assay) tyrosine kinase assay on BMG LABTECH´s PHERAstar using an AlphaScreen™ specific excitation LASER.

We demonstrate that DNA methylation patterns can serve as characteristic markers to distinguish different cell types. We have identified panels of methylation markers that are specific to mesenchymal stem cells or various differentiated cell types in the mesenchymal lineage. This method of cell type identification has a number of advantages over conventional markers in that it is robust, is both qualitative and quantitative.

We have prepared and performed comparison studies using two kinds of resins, Fmoc-Lys(5-FAM)-Rink Amide resin (I) and Fmoc-Lys[5-FAM(trt)]-Rink Amide resin (II), the latter contains a phenolic hydroxyl group protected with a trityl group. Syntheses were carried out under the same standard conditions and the peptides obtained showed no significant difference in purity. The results of these studies showed that resin (I) is adequate for synthesis of C-terminal fluorescent labeled peptide.

The reported incidence of Type II Diabetes Mellitus (TIIDM) in Oji-Cree Natives is the highest in the world. This poster presents the impact of the PCK1 gene on TIIDM incidence in Oji-Cree Natives with particular attention to the role of SNP 232C→G on the transcription rate of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinease (PPCK1).

Recently, TaqMan® assays have been developed for detection of genetic variation at gene level using primers and probes designed for genomic DNA sequences. The R package TaqGCN contains classes and methods that can be used for data reading and plotting, and for predicting gene copy number.

The EasyBeacons™ presented here are based on the novel technology Intercalating Nucleic Acid, INA®, linked to a fluorophore and a quencher. INA® is composed of normal DNA nucleotides and Intercalating Pseudo Nucleotides (IPNs). The fact that the EasyBeacons™ are mostly composed of normal DNA nucleotides means that in many respects EasyBeacons™ behave like DNA based probes, allowing use of standard buffers, primers and enzymes and hence reduces the optimisation efforts.

The new model-organism, Macrostomum lignano is a marine flatworm that has an average weight of 350 µg and is 1.2 mm long. RNA-isolation from small quantities of tissue needs optimalisation. Our goal was to isolate RNA from small quantities of sample material.

Correct interpretation of real-time PCR data requires appropriate experimental design, accurate data pre-processing and analysis of the data using proper statistical and multivariate methods. For this process we have developed the GenEx software.