Lucky dip total Flashcards
What is the significance of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) spot formation in the context of adoptive T cell transfer for cancer treatment?
IFN-γ spot formation indicates the activation of T cells in response to specific antigens, including cancer-associated mutations. This assay is crucial for assessing the functionality and specificity of engineered T cells designed to target and eliminate cancer cells.
How are brain organoids used to study autism spectrum disorder (ASD)? Briefly describe their advantages.
Brain organoids are three-dimensional cultures that recapitulate key aspects of human brain development. They provide a valuable platform for studying the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying ASD, offering advantages over traditional two-dimensional cultures and animal models due to their species-specificity and ability to model complex brain architecture.
In the study of transcriptional plasticity in colorectal cancer (CRC), what statistical methods were employed to determine the significance of observed clonal and subclonal mutations?
The study employed chi-squared tests to compare the frequencies of clonal and subclonal mutations, revealing a statistically significant difference (P = 0.00037), suggesting distinct mutational processes driving cancer evolution.
What is the role of the CRISPR/Cas9 system in engineering T cells for cancer therapy?
CRISPR/Cas9 is a revolutionary gene editing tool that enables precise modifications of the genome. In cancer therapy, it’s used to knock out genes that inhibit T cell activity (e.g., PDCD1) or to introduce cancer-specific T cell receptors (TCRs), enhancing their ability to target and kill cancer cells.
What is Fanzor, and what are its potential applications in gene editing?
Fanzor is a newly discovered CRISPR-associated nuclease that targets RNA guided by an omega RNA (ωRNA). It exhibits unique features, such as collateral RNase activity, making it a promising tool for RNA manipulation and potential therapeutic applications.
Explain the purpose of using biocytin in patch-clamp experiments on brain organoids.
Biocytin is a tracer molecule used to visualize neuronal morphology. When included in the intracellular solution during patch-clamp recordings, it diffuses into the neuron, allowing for subsequent staining and reconstruction of the cell’s intricate dendritic and axonal arborizations.
Describe the role of GINS organoids in the context of type 1 diabetes (T1D) research.
GINS organoids are derived from human gastric stem cells and differentiate into insulin-producing cells. These organoids offer a potential source of transplantable insulin-producing cells for treating T1D, addressing the limitations of donor islet transplantation.
What are the potential benefits and risks of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) as a treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS)?
HSCT involves replacing the patient’s immune system with that of a healthy donor. For MS, it aims to halt disease progression by eliminating autoreactive immune cells. However, HSCT carries significant risks, including infection, graft-versus-host disease, and treatment-related mortality.
What are developmental disorders (DDs), and how does PTV mutability contribute to their understanding?
DDs are a group of disorders that arise from genetic alterations affecting normal development. PTV mutability, the rate at which protein-truncating variants (PTVs) arise, is a key factor in understanding DDs. Genes with lower PTV mutability are more likely to cause disease when disrupted by PTVs.
Explain the significance of studying the pfhrp2 and pfhrp3 genes in the context of malaria diagnosis and treatment.
The pfhrp2 and pfhrp3 genes encode histidine-rich proteins expressed by Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite responsible for the most severe form of malaria. These genes are targets for rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) used to detect malaria infection. However, deletions in these genes can lead to false-negative results, impacting disease surveillance and treatment.
