BACKGROUND In advanced colorectal cancer, K-Ras somatic mutations predict resistance to mAbs targeting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Relationships between K-Ras mutations and EGFR status have not been examined so far. We analyzed relationships between K-Ras mutations and EGFR tumoral status based on EGFR germinal polymorphisms, gene copy number and expression. METHODS Eighty colore...

OBJECTIVES MET is a receptor present in the membrane of NSCLC cells and is known to promote cell proliferation, survival and migration. MET gene copy number is a common genetic alteration and inhibition o MET emerges as a promising targeted therapy in NSCLC. Here we aim to combine in a meta-analysis, data on the effect of high MET gene copy number on the overall survival of patients with resect...

Gene copy-number differences due to gene duplications and deletions are rampant in natural populations and play a crucial role in the evolution of genome complexity. Per-locus analyses of gene duplication rates in the pre-genomic era revealed that gene duplication rates are much higher than the per nucleotide substitution rate. Analyses of gene duplication and deletion rates in mutation accumul...

Previous studies of laboratory strains of budding yeast had shown that when gene copy number is altered experimentally, RNA levels generally scale accordingly. This is true when the copy number of individual genes or entire chromosomes is altered. In a recent study, Hose et al. (2015) reported that this tight correlation between gene copy number and RNA levels is not observed in recently isolat...

Chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) is an enzyme encoded by plasmids that detoxify the antibiotic chloramphenicol. It is responsible for chloramphenicol resistance in bacteria. Chloramphenicol acetyl transferase covalently attaches an acetyl group from acetyl-CoA to chloramphenicol which prevents chloramphenicol from binding to ribosomes. CAT is used as a reporter gene marker for the succe...

mycoplasma synoviae expressed variable lipoprotein haemagglutinin (vlha) is believed to play a major role in pathogenesis of the disease by mediating adherence and immune evasion. the aim of this study was sequencing iranian m. synoviae isolates for the detection of nucleotide variation in the m. synoviae vlha gene. using oligonucleotide primers complementary to the single-copy conserved 5´ end...

through an application of genetic engineering, genes from a soil bacterium bacillus thuringiensis (bt) which confer resistance to pests were transferred into rice. successful employment of genetic engineering in traditional breeding programs is dependent upon stable transmission of transgene in transgenic varieties. three different segregating f2 populations were developed from a cross between ...

To test the effect of increased AT1 receptor expression on blood pressure, we used gene targeting to generate mouse lines with a tandem duplication of the AT1A receptor gene locus (Agtr1a) along with >10 kb of 5' flanking DNA. By successive breeding, we generated mice with 3 and 4 copies of the Agtr1a gene locus on an inbred 129/Sv background. AT1A mRNA expression and AT1-specific binding of 12...

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is an energy sensor and master regulator of metabolism. AMPK functions as a fuel gauge monitoring systemic and cellular energy status. Activation of AMPK occurs when the intracellular AMP/ATP ratio increases and leads to a metabolic switch from anabolism to catabolism. AMPK phosphorylates and inhibits acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), which catalyzes carboxylatio...

Gene dosage by real-time quantitative PCR has proved to be accurate for measuring gene copy number. The aim of this study was to apply this approach to the CYP2D6 gene to allow for rapid identification of poor and ultrarapid metabolizers (0, 1, or more than 2 gene copy number). Using the 2(-Delta Delta Ct) calculation method and a duplex reaction, the number of CYP2D6 gene copies was determined...