National Cancer Research Institute

About: National Cancer Research Institute is a facility organization based out in London, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Cancer & Gene. The organization has 4381 authors who have published 6764 publications receiving 364662 citations.

Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles 2018 (MISEV2018) : a position statement of the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles and update of the MISEV2014 guidelines

Abstract: The last decade has seen a sharp increase in the number of scientific publications describing physiological and pathological functions of extracellular vesicles (EVs), a collective term covering various subtypes of cell-released, membranous structures, called exosomes, microvesicles, microparticles, ectosomes, oncosomes, apoptotic bodies, and many other names. However, specific issues arise when working with these entities, whose size and amount often make them difficult to obtain as relatively pure preparations, and to characterize properly. The International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) proposed Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles (“MISEV”) guidelines for the field in 2014. We now update these “MISEV2014” guidelines based on evolution of the collective knowledge in the last four years. An important point to consider is that ascribing a specific function to EVs in general, or to subtypes of EVs, requires reporting of specific information beyond mere description of function in a crude, potentially contaminated, and heterogeneous preparation. For example, claims that exosomes are endowed with exquisite and specific activities remain difficult to support experimentally, given our still limited knowledge of their specific molecular machineries of biogenesis and release, as compared with other biophysically similar EVs. The MISEV2018 guidelines include tables and outlines of suggested protocols and steps to follow to document specific EV-associated functional activities. Finally, a checklist is provided with summaries of key points.

Detection of polymorphisms of human DNA by gel electrophoresis as single-strand conformation polymorphisms

Abstract: We developed mobility shift analysis of single-stranded DNAs on neutral polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis to detect DNA polymorphisms. This method follows digestion of genomic DNA with restriction endonucleases, denaturation in alkaline solution, and electrophoresis on a neutral polyacrylamide gel. After transfer to a nylon membrane, the mobility shift due to a nucleotide substitution of a single-stranded DNA fragment could be detected by hybridization with a nick-translated DNA fragment or more clearly with RNA copies synthesized on each strand of the DNA fragment as probes. As the mobility shift caused by nucleotide substitutions might be due to a conformational change of single-stranded DNAs, we designate the features of single-stranded DNAs as single-strand conformation polymorphisms (SSCPs). Like restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs), SSCPs were found to be allelic variants of true Mendelian traits, and therefore they should be useful genetic markers. Moreover, SSCP analysis has the advantage over RFLP analysis that it can detect DNA polymorphisms and point mutations at a variety of positions in DNA fragments. Since DNA polymorphisms have been estimated to occur every few hundred nucleotides in the human genome, SSCPs may provide many genetic markers.

The Transcriptional Landscape of the Mammalian Genome

Abstract: This study describes comprehensive polling of transcription start and termination sites and analysis of previously unidentified full-length complementary DNAs derived from the mouse genome. We identify the 5' and 3' boundaries of 181,047 transcripts with extensive variation in transcripts arising from alternative promoter usage, splicing, and polyadenylation. There are 16,247 new mouse protein-coding transcripts, including 5154 encoding previously unidentified proteins. Genomic mapping of the transcriptome reveals transcriptional forests, with overlapping transcription on both strands, separated by deserts in which few transcripts are observed. The data provide a comprehensive platform for the comparative analysis of mammalian transcriptional regulation in differentiation and development.