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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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"Protease Signatures in Cancer Diagnostics"
Stefan H. Bossmann, PhD
Professor, Department of Chemistry
Terry C. Johnson Cancer Center
The Midwestern Institute for Comparative Stem Cell Biology
Kansas State University
The University of Kansas Cancer Center
Honorary Distinguished Professor, Kunming University, Kunming, China
Numerous proteases are involved in cancer development and progression including Matrix Metalloproteinases (MMPs), Tissue Serine Proteases, and Cathepsins. We have designed nanoplatforms consisting of fluorescent dyes that are attached to Fe/Fe3O4 nanoparticles via consensus sequences. Their detection limits when using fluorescence plate reader technology are in the sub-femtomolar range. Based on the expression pattern of up to 20 proteases, we were able to:
Based on our recent findings, there is emerging evidence that different cancers feature various "protease signatures," meaning that the levels of protease over-expression will differ, depending on the origin and stage of cancer. This permits the diagnosis of various solid tumors at their specific stages.
