Innovative Technology that Enables RNAi in Difficult to Transfect Cells

Despite the developments in conventional PCR, the complexity of multiplex Real Time PCR is still limited due to the lack of sufficient detection channels. To achieve high-end multiplexing capacity on standard Real Time PCR machines, Anapa Biotech has developed the MeltPlex® technology (see box on right).

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified more than 100 genetic loci associated with type 2 diabetes. The majority of these are located in the intergenic or intragenic regions suggesting that the implicated variants may alter chromatin conformation. This, in turn, is likely to influence the expression of nearby or more remotely located genes to alter beta cell function. At present, however, detailed molecular and functional analyses are still lacking for most of these variants. We recently analysed one of these loci and mapped five causal variants in an islet-specific enhancer cluster within the STARD10 gene locus. Here, we aimed to understand how these causal variants influence b-cell function by alteration of the chromatin structure of enhancer cluster

The nuclear receptors pregnane X receptor (PXR) and constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) are closely related transcription factors that regulate the expression of phase I (cytochrome P450s), phase II metabolizing enzymes and transporter genes in response to xenobiotics, including prescription drugs.