2020-09-25

Rapid quantitative screening assay for SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies using HiBiT-tagged virus-like particles

SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies confer protective immunity against reinfection. We have developed a rapid test for screening SARS-CoV-2 neutralization antibodies using genome-free virus-like particles incorporated with a small luciferase peptide, HiBiT. Their entry into LgBiT-expressing target cells reconstitutes NanoLuc luciferase readily detected by a luminometer.
2020-09-08

Polygenic architecture informs potential vulnerability to drug-induced liver injury

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a leading cause of termination in drug development programs and removal of drugs from the market; this is partially due to the inability to identify patients who are at risk. In this study, we developed a polygenic risk score (PRS) for DILI by aggregating effects of numerous genome-wide loci identified from previous large-scale genome-wide association studies.
2020-07-01

A pipeline for complete characterization of complex germline rearrangements from long DNA reads

Many genetic/genomic disorders are caused by genomic rearrangements. Standard methods can often characterize these variations only partly, e.g., copy number changes or breakpoints. It is important to fully understand the order and orientation of rearranged fragments, with precise breakpoints, to know the pathogenicity of the rearrangements.
2020-06-24

Robust detection of undifferentiated iPSC among differentiated cells

Recent progress in human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) technologies suggest that iPSC application in regenerative medicine is a closer reality. Numerous challenges prevent iPSC application in the development of numerous tissues and for the treatment of various diseases. A key concern in therapeutic applications is the safety of the cell products to be transplanted into patients. Here, we present novel method for detecting residual undifferentiated iPSCs amongst directed differentiated cells of all three germ lineages.