Brief description not available

A new strategy for barcoding single living cells using lipid-modified oligonucleotides that can vastly enhance sample multiplexing in droplet microfluidics-based RNA sequencing

This novel class of genetically-encoded fluorescent reporters can be used as powerful tools to study protein-protein interactions (PPIs) in living cells. These bright, reversible reporters have a large dynamic range and fast kinetics, demonstrating significant advantages over traditional FRET-based fluorescent reporters.

This invention describes a robust method to generate functional human beta cell equivalents from pluripotent stem cells in vitro for wide applications in basic research, drug and toxicology screens and as a diabetes cell therapy.

This technology contains a method of screening pooled libraries of synthetic, genetically-encoded constructs and assessing functional effects of the variants on cell activity. This approach can be used to screen a large number synthetic signaling molecule that alters cell behavior and function.

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This invention identifies a set of antibodies that allow direct imaging of immune cells in a tumor biospecimen.

This invention includes the design and use of protease imaging reporters which can be detected in deep tissue. These can be used to monitor the effects of protease inhibitors, proteases and protease mediated processes including apoptosis related to the treatment of disease states such as cancer.

This invention is a novel method of controlling gene expression at genome scale using CRISPRi/a, which provides for highly specific and robust induction or repression of transcription.

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has evolved a number of mechanisms of evading the human immune system.  One way is through a high level of mutation, which makes it difficult to develop a vaccine that stimulates protective immunity against all of the different HIV variants.  Therefore, scientists are searching for a general surrogate maker that could be used to target any HIV-infected cell regardless of its mutational status. In this regard, scientists have recently focused their attention on so-called cryptic peptides of HIV.  Cryptic peptides are non-functional HIV proteins that are produced due to translational errors that occur in HIV-infected cells.  Because these cryptic peptides are commonly produced and then presented on the surface of the HIV-infected cells, it is thought they may be good surrogate markers and targets for any HIV-infected cell.

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a common manifestation of systemic autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), lupus and scleroderma, which can lead to inflammation and scarring of the lung and, consequently, to hypoxemia, pulmonary hypertension and death.  It is estimated that ILD occurs in approximately 15 percent of patients with RA.  Very little is known about how ILD disorders arise and what role loss of immune tolerance plays in ILD development.  Presently, there are no validated lung-specific autoantigens for diagnosis of autoimmune-mediated lung disease.  Current options for ILD treatment are limited to powerful immunosuppressive medications with significant side effects.  Identification of novel pulmonary biomarkers is sorely needed to develop better diagnostic methods and therapies for ILD.

Researchers at UCSF have developed a novel and efficient genetic high throughput screening system for discovery of small molecule modulators that either activate or inhibit K2P potassium channel activity. Such modulators could be used for treating diseases such as chronic pain, depression, and also to modulate responses to general anesthesia.

Brief description not available

Cells have long been sorted by various means including through electrokinetic sorting, differential uptake of chemicals, magnetic antibodies specific to the target cell surface, and flow-cytometry assays. A key limitation to these methods is that they are either not sufficiently specific to isolate dead cells from live cells or they render the sorted cells unusable for clinical applications. UC investigators have developed a cell sorting platform that allows sorting live cells from minimally viable cells and dead cells, while minimizing the risk of damage to the live cells during the sorting process. This process does not require that properties of the cell be known a priori, and allows for greater flexibility of sorting patterns. This platform is high-throughput and retrieves groups of sorted cells.