CD81 (Cluster of Differentiation 81)

Cluster of differentiation (CD81) is a type of protein, which is encoded by CD81 gene. Beside that CD81 is also known under other names such as Target of the Antiproliferative Antibody 1 (TAPA-1) and Tetraspanin-28 (TSPAN28). Location of CD81 is known to be on chromosome 11 (11p15.5), where it contains 15-20 bases in length. It is expressed mostly in cells of testis, ovary, endometrium, placenta, bone marrow, smooth muscles and others. The main function of the CD81 protein is to mediate signal transduction events, which are important for cells' development, activation, growth and motility. The CD81 gene is also known as a candidate for many malignancies because of its location. The characteristic feature of CD81 is that it is highly hydrophobic and contains a short N- and C-terminal cytoplasmic domains together with cytoplasmic cysteines, potential sites of palmitoylation as well as four transmembrane domains where they together hold the protein in a cell membrane. There are two CD81 isoforms, isoform 1 and isoform 2. Isoforms of CD81 are usually found in a tumor-suppressor region where they have a great impact on tumor development. There has always been a high interest in research on CD81 function in viral disease development. In fact, it is known that CD81 contributes in the development of diseases such as hepatitis C, malaria and various types of cancer. Since the complete effect of CD81 is unknown, further research and scientific methodology could potentially discover all possible functions and mechanisms regulated by the CD81 protein in human body

TNFRSF9 (TNF receptor superfamily member 9)

Review on TNFRSF9 (CD137), with data on DNA, on the protein encoded, and where the gene is implicated

CDK2 (cyclin dependent kinase 2)

Review on CDK2, with data on DNA, on the protein encoded, and where the gene is implicated

PTPN9 (protein tyrosine phosphatase, non-receptor type 9)

Review on PTPN9, with data on DNA, on the protein encoded, and where the gene is implicated

Holography: The Usefulness of Digital Holographic Microscopy for Clinical Diagnostics

Digital holographic (DH) microscopy is a digital high-resolution holographic imaging technique with the capacity of quantification of cellular conditions without any staining or labeling of cells. The unique measurable parameters are the cell number, cell area, thickness, and volume, which can be coupled to proliferation, migration, cell cycle analysis, viability, and cell death. The technique is cell friendly, fast and simple to use and has unique imaging capabilities for time-lapse investigations on both the single cell and the cell-population levels. The interest for analyzing specifically cell volume changes with DH microscopy, resulting from cytotoxic treatments, drug response, or apoptosis events has recently increased in popularity. We and others have used DH microscopy showing that the technique has the sensitivity to distinguish between different cells and treatments. Recently, DH microscopy has been used for cellular diagnosis in the clinic, providing support for using the concept of DH, e.g., screening of malaria infection of red blood cells (RBC), cervix cancer screening, and sperm quality. Because of its quick and label-free sample handling, DH microscopy will be an important tool in the future for personalized medicine investigations, determining the optimal therapeutic concentration for both different cancer types and individual treatments

Cells and Holograms – Holograms and Digital Holographic Microscopy as a Tool to Study the Morphology of Living Cells

We present a method to study the morphology of living, dividing and dying cells using DHM. DHM is a non-invasive, non-destructive and non-phototoxic method which allows the user to perform both qualitative and quantitative measurements of living cells over time. We show here our results on cell division and cell death in single cells. The morphological analyses performed here show changes caused by cell death and cell division, and indicate the possibilities to discriminate between different types of cell death. Cells dying in an apoptosis-like manner display different cell area and cell thickness profiles over time compared to cells dying in a necrosis-like manner, although their volume profiles are very similar. Dividing cells show a characteristic dip in the volume profile, which makes them easily distinguishable. Also, several previous studies show the versatile abilities of DHM. Different cell types have been studied and the morphology has been used to determine cell functionality as well as changes in morphology related to the environment. Cell morphology parameters can be very useful when following the effects of different treatments, the process of differentiation as well as cell growth and cell death. Cell morphology studied by DHM can be useful in toxicology, stem cell and cancer research

Quantitative Phase Dynamics of Cancer Cell Populations Affected by Blue Light

Increased exposition to blue light may induce many changes in cell behavior and significantly affect the critical characteristics of cells. Here we show that multimodal holographic microscopy (MHM) within advanced image analysis is capable of correctly distinguishing between changes in cell motility, cell dry mass, cell density, and cell death induced by blue light. We focused on the effect of blue light with a wavelength of 485 nm on morphological and dynamical parameters of four cell lines, malignant PC-3, A2780, G361 cell lines, and the benign PNT1A cell line. We used MHM with blue light doses 24 mJ/cm2, 208 mJ/cm2 and two kinds of expositions (500 and 1000 ms) to acquire real-time quantitative phase information about cellular parameters. It has been shown that specific doses of the blue light significantly influence cell motility, cell dry mass and cell density. These changes were often specific for the malignant status of tested cells. Blue light dose 208 mJ/cm2 × 1000 ms affected malignant cell motility but did not change the motility of benign cell line PNT1A. This light dose also significantly decreased proliferation activity in all tested cell lines but was not so deleterious for benign cell line PNT1A as for malignant cells. Light dose 208 mJ/cm2 × 1000 ms oppositely affected cell mass in A2780 and PC-3 cells and induced different types of cell death in A2780 and G361 cell lines. Cells obtained the least damage on lower doses of light with shorter time of exposition

PIP5K1A (phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate 5-kinase type 1 alpha)

Review on PIP5K1A, with data on DNA, on the protein encoded, and where the gene is implicated

PIP5K1A (phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate 5-kinase type 1 alpha)

Review on PIP5K1A, with data on DNA, on the protein encoded, and where the gene is implicated