Provided are assay systems for determining the therapeutic or toxic effect of a putative drug based on assaying its activity in cells which have been differentiated in vitro from stem cells, and induced to display a phenotype that resembles a disease to be treated.

A method determines the likelihood that a subject has or will develop cancer. The method is based on identifying whether targeted somatic mutagenesis of a nucleic acid molecule by a mutagenic agent has occurred. The mutations are at one or more motifs recognized or targeted by the mutagenic agent such as AID, an APOBEC cytidine deaminase or aflatoxin, The nucleic acid molecule includes the whole exome. The cancer can be any of breast, prostate, liver, colon, pancreatic, skin, cervical, lymphoid, hematopoietic and ovarian cancer; and the biological sample comprises, respectively, breast, prostate, liver, colon, pancreatic, skin, cervical, lymphoid, hematopoietic or ovarian tissue or cells.

The invention described herein relates to methods of monitoring genotoxic stress in a test subject, specifically by detecting the expression level of microvesicle-associated H2AX from a biological sample.

This invention relates to methods and compositions for identifying microbial DNA in the tissues or body fluid samples of patients. More particularly, the invention relates to two-step polymerase chain reaction based methods for identifying microbial DNA in the tissues or body fluid samples of patients, and compositions therefor. Microbial DNA can also be quantified using the methods described herein.

The invention relates to a method of identifying a specific fungal species in patient tissue or body fluid. The method comprises the steps of extracting and recovering DNA of the fungal species from the patient tissue or body fluid, amplifying the DNA, hybridizing a probe to the DNA to specifically identify the fungal species, and specifically identifying the fungal species. The invention also relates to a method of identifying a mycotoxin in patient tissue or body fluid. The method comprises the steps of extracting and recovering the mycotoxin from the patient tissue or body fluid, contacting the mycotoxin with an antibody directed against the mycotoxin, and identifying the myocotoxin. Both of these methods can be used to determine if a patient is at risk for or has developed a disease state related to a fungal infection, and to develop an effective treatment regimen for the patient.

This document provides methods and materials related to genetic variations associated with endometriosis. For example, this document provides methods for using such genetic variations to assess risk of, or susceptibility of developing or diagnosing endometriosis.

The invention provides a method for detection of allergic inflammation in a subject that comprises assaying a test sample of peripheral blood from the subject for a marker of DNA damage. An elevated amount of marker present in the test sample compared to control sample is indicative of inflammation. The method can be adapted for quantitatively monitoring the efficacy of treatment of allergic inflammation in a subject. Markers of DNA damage include single- and/or double-stranded breaks in leukocytes, oxidative DNA damage in leukocytes, or a marker of nitric oxide oxidative activity (protein nitrosylation in leukocytes). This unexpected discovery of markers of systemic genotoxicity present in circulating leukocytes enables detection of allergic inflammation with a relatively simple and minimally invasive assay using peripheral blood.

The invention relates to a method of identifying a specific fungal species in patient tissue or body fluid. The method comprises the steps of extracting and recovering DNA of the fungal species from the patient tissue or body fluid, amplifying the DNA, hybridizing a probe to the DNA to specifically identify the fungal species, and specifically identifying the fungal species. The invention also relates to a method of identifying a mycotoxin in patient tissue or body fluid. The method comprises the steps of extracting and recovering the mycotoxin from the patient tissue or body fluid, contacting the mycotoxin with an antibody directed against the mycotoxin, and identifying the myocotoxin. Both of these methods can be used to determine if a patient is at risk for or has developed a disease state related to a fungal infection, and to develop an effective treatment regimen for the patient.

The present invention provides methods for assessing efficacy of a methotrexate (MTX) dosing regimen in a patient.

A method of assessing neurotoxicity of nanoparticles, includes: preparing a tissue or cell sample of mammal exposed to the nanoparticles; analyzing at least one polyamine metabolite selected from the group consisting of putrescine, N1-acetylspermidine, N8-acetylspermidine, N1-acetylspermine and spermine in the sample; and comparing expression degree of the polyamine metabolite with that of a control.