BACKGROUND Targeted delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) has been regarded as one of the most important technologies for the development of siRNA therapeutics. However, the need for safe and efficient delivery systems is a barrier to further development of RNA interference therapeutics. In this work, a nontoxic and efficient siRNA carrier delivery system of low molecular weight polyethylen...

Humans commonly carry pathogenic bacteria asymptomatically, but the molecular factors underlying microbial asymptomatic carriage are poorly understood. We previously reported that two epidemiologically unassociated serotype M3 group A Streptococcus (GAS) carrier strains had an identical 12-bp deletion in the promoter of the gene encoding Mga, a global positive gene regulator. Herein, we report ...

Population-based carrier screening for single gene disorders has been occurring since the 1960s, with each decade bringing new opportunities and challenges. In February 2008, approximately 125 scientists, clinicians, public health officials, and patient representatives gathered to consider population-based carrier screening in light of lessons learned and emerging technologies. The following do...

background and objectives: beta-thalassemia continues to be a cause of significant burden to the society particularly in the poorer developing countries. although sophisticated methods of screening have become available, a hunt for a cheap, rapid, objective screening method still remains elusive. thus, the objectives are to study the validity of naked-eye-single-tube-osmotic-fragility-test (nes...

Population-based carrier screening for single gene disorders has been occurring since the 1960s, with each decade bringing new opportunities and challenges. In February 2008, approximately 125 scientists, clinicians, public health officials, and patient representatives gathered to consider population-based carrier screening in light of lessons learned and emerging technologies. The following do...

amphiphilic cationic micelles have recently attracted much attention as non-viral vector. in the current study the retinoic acid-g-chitosan (ra-chitosan) micelles have been used as novel gene carriers. uptake of micelles, condensation ability and transfection efficiency of micelle–dna complexes (miceplexes) in the presence or absence of serum had been investigated on hela and hepg2 cell lines. ...

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive disorder, caused by homozygous absence of the survival motor neuron gene (SMN1) in approximately 94% of patients. Since most carriers have only one SMN1 gene copy, several SMN1 quantitative analyses have been used for the SMA carrier detection. We developed a reliable quantitative real-time PCR with SYBR Green I dye and studied 13 patients...

Mutations in the connexin 26 (Cx26) gene at the DFNB1 locus on chromosome 13q12 are associated with autosomal recessive non-syndromic hearing loss (ARNSHL). There are many known mutations in this gene that cause hearing loss. A single frameshift, at position 35 (35delG) accounts for 50% of mutations in the Caucasian population with carrier frequencies of 1.5-2.5%. In this study we investigated ...