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In recent years an increasing amount of interest has been directed at the study and routine testing of polymorphisms responsible for variations in drug metabolism. Most of the current methods involve either time-consuming electrophoresis steps or specialized and expensive equipment. In this context, we have developed a rapid, simple and robust method for genotyping of CYP2D6*3, CYP2D6*4, CYP2C19*2, CYP2C19*3 and TPMT*2 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP). Genomic DNA is isolated from whole blood and the segments that span the SNP of interest are amplified by PCR. The products are subjected directly (without purification) to two primer extension (PEXT) reactions (three cycles each) using normal and mutant primers in the presence of biotin-dUTP. The PEXT primers contain a (dA)(30) segment at the 5' end. The PEXT products are detected visually by a dry-reagent dipstick-type assay in which the biotinylated extension products are captured from immobilized streptavidin on the test zone of the strip and detected by hybridization with oligo(dT)-functionalized gold nanoparticles. Patient samples (76 variants in total) were genotyped and the results were fully concordant with those obtained by direct DNA sequencing.

Combined screening of the mRNAs for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) has been proposed as a more useful test than the separate PSA mRNA or PSMA mRNA assays in the molecular diagnosis and monitoring of prostate cancer. We have developed a simple and highly sensitive method for the simultaneous detection of PSA mRNA and PSMA mRNA using duplex RT-PCR and a chemiluminometric hybridization assay. Total RNA from peripheral blood was reverse-transcribed using oligo(dT)20 primer followed by duplex PCR in the presence of two pairs of primers specific for PSA and PSMA. Heat-denatured biotinylated PCR products were hybridized with PSA- and PSMA-specific oligonucleotide probes immobilized in microtiter wells. The hybrids were determined by using a streptavidin–alkaline phosphatase conjugate and a chemiluminogenic substrate. Using the duplex PCR, 50 copies of PSA DNA and 5 copies of PSMA DNA can be detected with a signal/background ratio of 9.7 and 22, respectively. Analysis of samples containing total RNA corresponding to 0.04–400 LNCaP cells indicated that the detectability of the proposed method is 1 cancer cell equivalent in 10 ml of peripheral blood. The overall reproducibility of the duplex assay, including reverse transcription, PCR, and hybridization assay, ranged from 3.6 to 15.5%. The method is very simple, rapid, sensitive and suitable for high-throughput screening analysis as opposed to the commonly used nested RT-PCR assays with electrophoretic detection.

In recent years, the mRNA for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) has been investigated as a potential marker for molecular staging of prostate cancer. We report a simple, rapid, and sensitive assay protocol for the quantification of PSA mRNA in peripheral blood by using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and a chemiluminometric hybridization assay. A recombinant RNA internal standard (IS) that has the same size and primer binding sites as the PSA mRNA is included in the RT-PCR mixture. Total RNA from the sample is coextracted with a constant amount of IS RNA and subjected to RT-PCR. Amplified sequences are labeled with biotin during PCR by using a biotinylated upstream primer. The products are heat-denatured and hybridized with oligonucleotide-specific probes (for PSA and IS) that are immobilized in microtiter wells. Immobilization of oligonucleotide probes is achieved by adsorption of their conjugates with bovine serum albumin. The hybrids are measured using alkaline phosphatase-labeled streptavidin and a dioxetane chemiluminogenic substrate. The ratio of the luminescence values obtained for the PSA mRNA and the RNA IS is a linear function of the initial amount of PSA mRNA present in the sample prior to RT-PCR amplification. The linear range extended from 50 to 500,000 PSA mRNA copies, and the overall reproducibility of the assay, including RT-PCR and hybridization, ranged from 11.5 to 14.2%. Samples containing total RNA from PSA-expressing LNCaP cells give luminescence ratios that are linearly related to the number of cells in the range of 0.04–400 cells. The method was applied to PSA mRNA determination in peripheral blood of healthy individuals, patients with benign prostate hyperplasia, patients with prostate cancer, and patients with other types of localized cancer.

A quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method, employing internal standard (IS) RNA and a simplified chemiluminometric hybridization assay, is described for the determination of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) mRNA. The recombinant RNA IS has the same binding sites and size as the amplified PSMA mRNA. Biotinylated PCR products (263 bp) from PSMA mRNA and RNA IS are captured in microtiter wells coated with streptavidin, and hybridized with alkaline phosphatase-conjugated probes. The bound alkaline phosphatase (AP) is measured by using a chemiluminogenic substrate. The ratio of the luminescence values obtained for PSMA mRNA and the RNA IS is a linear function of the initial amount of PSMA mRNA present in the sample before RT-PCR. The linear range extends from 500 to 5,000,000 PSMA mRNA copies and the overall reproducibility of the assay, including RT-PCR and hybridization, ranges from 7.4 to 16.6%. Samples containing total RNA from PSMA-expressing LNCaP cells give luminescence ratios linearly related to the number of cells in the range 0.5-5,000 cells.

Regulated exocytosis involves the Ca 2+ -triggered fusion of secretory vesicles with the plasma membrane, by activation of vesicle membrane Ca 2+ -binding proteins [1]. The Ca 2+ -binding sites of these proteins are likely to lie within 30 nm of the vesicle surface, a domain in which changes in Ca 2+ concentration cannot be resolved by conventional fluorescence microscopy. A fluorescent indicator for Ca 2+ called a yellow ‘cameleon' (Ycam2) – comprising a fusion between a cyan-emitting mutant of the green fluorescent protein (GFP), calmodulin, the calmodulin-binding peptide M13 and an enhanced yellow-emitting GFP – which is targetable to specific intracellular locations, has been described [2]. Here, we generated a fusion between phogrin, a protein that is localised to secretory granule membranes [3], and Ycam2 (phogrin–Ycam2) to monitor changes in Ca 2+ concentration ([Ca 2+ ]) at the secretory vesicle surface ([Ca 2+ ] gd ) through alterations in fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between the linked cyan and yellow fluorescent proteins (CFP and YFP, respectively) in Ycam2. In both neuroendocrine PC12 and MIN6 pancreatic β cells, apparent resting values of cytosolic [Ca 2+ ] and [Ca 2+ ] gd were similar throughout the cell. In MIN6 cells following the activation of Ca 2+ influx, the minority of vesicles that were within ∼1 μm of the plasma membrane underwent increases in [Ca 2+ ] gd that were significantly greater than those experienced by deeper vesicles, and greater than the apparent cytosolic [Ca 2+ ] change. The ability to image both global and compartmentalised [Ca 2+ ] changes with recombinant targeted cameleons should extend the usefulness of these new Ca 2+ probes.

To image the behaviour in real time of single secretory granules in neuroendocrine cells we have expressed cDNA encoding a fusion construct between the dense-core secretory-granule-membrane glycoprotein, phogrin (phosphatase on the granule of insulinoma cells), and enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP). Expressed in INS-1 β-cells and pheochromocytoma PC12 cells, the chimaera was localized efficiently (up to 95%) to dense-core secretory granules (diameter 200–1000 nm), identified by co-immunolocalization with anti-(pro-)insulin antibodies in INS-1 cells and dopamine β-hydroxylase in PC12 cells. Using laser-scanning confocal microscopy and digital image analysis, we have used this chimaera to monitor the effects of secretagogues on the dynamics of secretory granules in single living cells. In unstimulated INS-1 β-cells, granule movement was confined to oscillatory movement (dithering) with period of oscillation 5–10 s and mean displacement < 1 µm. Both elevated glucose concentrations (30 mM), and depolarization of the plasma membrane with K+, provoked large (5–10 µm) saltatory excursions of granules across the cell, which were never observed in cells maintained at low glucose concentration. By contrast, long excursions of granules occurred in PC12 cells without stimulation, and occurred predominantly from the cell body towards the cell periphery and neurite extensions. Purinergic-receptor activation with ATP provoked granule movement towards the membrane of PC12 cells, resulting in the transfer of fluorescence to the plasma membrane consistent with fusion of the granule and diffusion of the chimaera in the plasma membrane. These results illustrate the potential use of phogrin–EGFP chimeras in the study of secretory-granule dynamics, the regulation of granule–cytoskeletal interactions and the trafficking of a granule-specific transmembrane protein during the cycle of exocytosis and endocytosis.