Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) imaging is an emergent technology that has been increasingly adopted in cancer research. MALDI imaging is capable of providing global molecular mapping of the abundance and spatial information of biomolecules directly in the tissues without labeling. It enables the characterization of a wide spectrum of analytes, including proteins, peptides, glycans, lipids, drugs, and metabolites and is well suited for both discovery and targeted analysis. An advantage of MALDI imaging is that it maintains tissue integrity, which allows correlation with histological features. It has proven to be a valuable tool for probing tumor heterogeneity and has been increasingly applied to interrogate molecular events associated with cancer. It provides unique insights into both the molecular content and spatial details that are not accessible by other techniques, and it has allowed considerable progress in the field of cancer research. In this review, we first provide an overview of the MALDI imaging workflow and approach. We then highlight some useful applications in various niches of cancer research, followed by a discussion of the challenges, recent developments and future prospect of this technique in the field.
Clinical diagnostic tests should be quick, reliable, simple to perform, and affordable for diagnosis and treatment of diseases. In this regard, owing to their novel properties, biosensors have attracted the attention of scientists as well as end-users. They are efficient, stable, and relatively cheap. Biosensors have broad applications in medical diagnosis, including point-of-care (POC) monitoring, forensics, and biomedical research. The electrochemical nucleic acid (NA) biosensor, the latest invention in this field, combines the sensitivity of electroanalytical methods with the inherent bioselectivity of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA). The NA biosensor exploits the affinity of single-stranded DNA/RNA for its complementary strand and is used to detect complementary sequences of NA based on hybridization. After the NA component in the sensor detects the analyte, a catalytic reaction or binding event that generates an electrical signal in the transducer ensues. Since 2000, much progress has been made in this field, but there are still numerous challenges. This critical review describes the advances, challenges, and prospects of NA-based electrochemical biosensors for clinical diagnosis. It includes the basic principles, classification, sensing enhancement strategies, and applications of biosensors as well as their advantages, limitations, and future prospects, and thus it should be useful to academics as well as industry in the improvement and application of EC NA biosensors.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the pathogen responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreaks that resulted in a catastrophic threat to global health, with more than 500 million cases detected and 5.5 million deaths worldwide. Patients with a COVID-19 infection presented with clinical manifestations ranging from asymptomatic to severe symptoms, resulting in acute lung injury, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and even death. Immune dysregulation through delayed innate immune response or impairment of the adaptive immune response is the key contributor to the pathophysiology of COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2-induced cytokine storm. Symptomatic and supportive therapy is the fundamental strategy in treating COVID-19 infection, including antivirals, steroid-based therapies, and cell-based immunotherapies. Various studies reported substantial effects of immune-based therapies for patients with COVID-19 to modulate the over-activated immune system while simultaneously refining the body's ability to destroy the virus. However, challenges may arise from the complexity of the disease through the genetic variance of the virus itself and patient heterogeneity, causing increased transmissibility and heightened immune system evasion that rapidly change the intervention and prevention measures for SARS-CoV-2. Cell-based therapy, utilizing stem cells, dendritic cells, natural killer cells, and T cells, among others, are being extensively explored as other potential immunological approaches for preventing and treating SARS-CoV-2-affected patients the similar process was effectively proven in SARS-CoV-1 and MERS-CoV infections. This review provides detailed insights into the innate and adaptive immune response-mediated cell-based immunotherapies in COVID-19 patients. The immune response linking towards engineered autologous or allogenic immune cells for either treatment or preventive therapies is subsequently highlighted in an individual study or in combination with several existing treatments. Up-to-date data on completed and ongoing clinical trials of cell-based agents for preventing or treating COVID-19 are also outlined to provide a guide that can help in treatment decisions and future trials.
Monoclonal gammopathy (MG) is a spectrum of diseases ranging from the benign asymptomatic monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance to the malignant multiple myeloma. Clinical guidelines and laboratory recommendations have been developed to inform best practices in the diagnosis, monitoring, and management of MG. In this review, the pathophysiology, relevant laboratory testing recommended in clinical practice guidelines and laboratory recommendations related to MG testing and reporting are examined. The clinical guidelines recommend serum protein electrophoresis, serum immunofixation and serum free light chain measurement as initial screening. The laboratory recommendations omit serum immunofixation as it offers limited additional diagnostic value. The laboratory recommendations offer guidance on reporting findings beyond monoclonal protein, which was not required by the clinical guidelines. The clinical guidelines suggested monitoring total IgA concentration by turbidimetry or nephelometry method if the monoclonal protein migrates in the non-gamma region, whereas the laboratory recommendations make allowance for involved IgM and IgG. Additionally, several external quality assurance programs for MG protein electrophoresis and free light chain testing are also appraised. The external quality assurance programs show varied assessment criteria for protein electrophoresis reporting and unit of measurement. There is also significant disparity in reported monoclonal protein concentrations with wide inter-method analytical variation noted for both monoclonal protein quantification and serum free light chain measurement, however this variation appears smaller when the same method was used. Greater harmonization among laboratory recommendations and reporting format may improve clinical interpretation of MG testing.