Biology subjects

Jones, D. J.

Publications and source records attributed to Jones, D. J..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

Enhancing reproducibility and decentralization in single cell research with biocytometry

Biomedicine today is experiencing a shift towards decentralized data collection, which promises enhanced reproducibility and collaboration across diverse laboratory environments. This inter-laboratory study evaluates the performance of biocytometry, a method utilizing engineered bioparticles for enumerating cells based on their surface antigen patterns. In a decentralized framework, spanning 78 assays conducted by 30 users across 12 distinct laboratories, biocytometry consistently demonstrated significant statistical power in discriminating numbers of target cells at varying concentrations as low as 1 cell per 100,000 background cells. User skill levels varied from expert to beginner capturing a range of proficiencies. Measurement was performed in a decentralized environment without any instrument cross-calibration or advanced user training outside of a basic instruction manual. The results affirm biocytometry to be a viable solution for immunophenotyping applications demanding sensitivity as well as scalability and reproducibility and paves the way for decentralized analysis of rare cells in heterogeneous samples.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2020

Insertional mutagenesis defines drivers and evolutionary relationships in pancreatic cancer metastasis

Metastasis is a defining feature of pancreatic cancer, impacting patient quality of life and therapeutic outcomes. While recurrent mutations in KRAS and TP53 play important roles in primary tumor development and persist in metastases, the contributions of other genes to the metastatic process is understudied. Here, we define a network of metastasis-promoting genes and uncover positively selected genes in metastatic lesions from our Sleeping Beauty mouse model of pancreatic cancer using our recently described SB Driver Analysis statistical pipeline. We show that loss of single genes DLG1, PARD3, PKP4 and PTPRK promote pancreas cancer progression in a context-specific manner. Finally, we define clonal and sub-clonal insertion events that distinguish primary and individual metastatic tumors and use single cell sequencing to gain insight into the evolutionary relationships between sub-regions of primary pancreatic tumors and related metastases, which has important implications for pancreatic disease progression and therapeutic opportunities for patients.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2019

Transposon mutagenesis identifies cooperating genetic drivers during keratinocyte transformation and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma progression

The systematic identification of genetic events driving cellular transformation and tumor progression in the absence of a highly recurrent oncogenic driver mutation is a challenge in cutaneous oncology. In cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cuSCC), the high UV-induced mutational burden poses a hurdle to achieve a complete molecular landscape of this disease. Here, we utilized the Sleeping Beauty transposon mutagenesis system to statistically define drivers of keratinocyte transformation and cuSCC progression in vivo in the absence of UV-IR, and identified both known tumor suppressor genes and novel oncogenic drivers of cuSCC. Functional analysis confirms an oncogenic role for the ZMIZ genes, and tumor suppressive roles for KMT2C, CREBBP and NCOA2, in the initiation or progression of human cuSCC. Taken together, our in vivo screen demonstrates an extremely heterogeneous genetic landscape of cuSCC initiation and progression, which can be harnessed to better understand skin oncogenic etiology and prioritize therapeutic candidates.

cancer biology↗