Entries by Ryan Casey

The Intricate Interplay of HLA Genes, HLA Typing, and CAR-T Cell Therapy: A Deep Dive

The field of immunotherapy has witnessed significant advancements in recent years, with chimeric antigen receptor CAR-T cell therapy emerging as a revolutionary treatment modality for certain hematological malignancies. CAR-T cells are genetically engineered to express CARs that target specific tumor antigens, enabling them to selectively eliminate cancer cells. However, the success of CAR-T cell therapy […]

Unraveling the Mysteries of HLA Typing: 3 Groundbreaking Allele Discoveries

Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) typing has revolutionized the fields of immunology, organ transplantation, and disease association research. It is a method for identifying the genetic variations in HLA genes that determine an individual’s unique immune response. In this in-depth blog post, we’ll explore three of the most famous allele discoveries related to the HLA genes, […]

The Top 5 Misconceptions with HLA Genes and Immunology

The Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) system is a complex genetic system that plays a critical role in the immune response. It is essential for the identification and elimination of foreign substances in the body. Despite its importance, there are several misconceptions surrounding HLA genes and their association with immunology. In this blog post, we will […]

Diving into the History of HLA Genes and Their Impact on Drug Discovery

The Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) system, a key component of our immune system, is responsible for the recognition and presentation of foreign antigens to T-cells. The HLA system has emerged as a vital player in transplant compatibility, autoimmune diseases, and pharmaceutical drug discovery. In this blog post, we will explore the fascinating history of HLA […]

What are the Differences Between 2-field and 4-field Reporting for HLA Typing?

As a researcher, you are likely familiar with the importance of HLA typing in various clinical applications, such as transplantation, disease association studies, and pharmacogenomics. Given the critical role that HLA typing plays in these areas, understanding the nuances of reporting methods is vital. In this blog post, we will delve into the differences between […]

What is the Impact of HLA Typing on Cancer Immunotherapy?

This post explores the influence of Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) typing on cancer immunotherapy, detailing its role in developing personalized treatments and improving patient outcomes. We discuss the latest research in the field, including advancements in HLA-based neoantigen discovery, T cell receptor (TCR) engineering, and cancer vaccines. Setting the Stage Cancer immunotherapy has revolutionized oncology […]

HLA Typing: Disease States Associated with HLA-DRB1/3/4/5 Genes

This blog post presents an overview of the disease states associated with variations in the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) DRB1, DRB3, DRB4, and DRB5 genes. We will discuss the importance of HLA typing in the context of these diseases, the various techniques employed, and the potential impact on diagnosis and treatment. Introduction to HLA-DRB1/3/4/5 Gene […]

HLA Typing: Exploring Disease States Associated with Variants of the HLA-B Gene

Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) typing is an essential tool in understanding genetic susceptibility to diseases, as it identifies specific alleles associated with various disease states. Among the HLA genes, the HLA-B gene has been extensively studied due to its crucial role in immune response and its link to numerous diseases. This white paper investigates the […]

Decoding HLA-A: Common Allele Variants and Their Clinical Implications

The Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) system, a group of genes within the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC), plays a critical role in the immune response. HLA class I molecules, including HLA-A, -B, and -C, are responsible for presenting intracellular peptides to cytotoxic T cells. Given their immunological importance, HLA genes are highly polymorphic, with HLA-A being […]

Collecting and Shipping PBMC and Cell Pellet Samples for HLA Typing

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and cell pellets are common sources of DNA for human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing in immune-related disease research. However, collecting these samples from donors can pose challenges that researchers should be aware of to ensure that the samples are of high quality and produce reliable and valuable data. Additionally, researchers […]

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The Benefits of 4-Field Resolution for HLA Typing

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing is an essential component of research into immune-related diseases, including autoimmune disorders and infectious diseases. HLA genes are highly polymorphic, meaning that they come in many different forms, and there are thousands of possible HLA alleles. Researchers often use HLA typing to investigate the genetic factors that influence disease susceptibility […]

Understand How To Best Utilize HLA Typing

HLA typing is a laboratory test used to determine the type of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) that an individual has. HLA are proteins found on the surface of white blood cells, and they play an important role in how our immune system recognizes foreign substances such as bacteria or viruses. Knowing someone’s HLA type can […]

The HLA-B Gene

The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system is a group of genes located on chromosome 6 that play a crucial role in the immune system. The HLA-B gene is one of the many genes that make up the HLA system, and it is responsible for encoding a protein that helps the immune system to recognize and […]

The HLA-A Gene

The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system is a critical component of the immune system and an essential subject of medical research. The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is an integral part of the HLA system, and the HLA-A gene is a key gene within this complex. This gene plays an important role in the body’s ability […]

HLA Typing and HLA Genes in Research: A Primer

Immunology is the study of the immune system, which includes both innate and adaptive immunity. This includes antibodies, specialized proteins that recognize foreign invaders such as bacteria or viruses; T cells, specialized white blood cells which are involved in cell-mediated immunity; and phagocytes (white blood cells) that engulf microbial invaders. Understanding these components of the […]

The Cost of HLA Typing

At The Sequencing Center, one of the main services that we provide to pharmaceutical, academic, and clinical researchers is HLA Typing. HLA Typing (human leukocyte antigen) is most commonly leveraged for matching patients and donors for bone marrow or cord blood transplants. However, it is also used in a lot of immunotherapy research for drug […]

The Influence of Genetics on Clinical Research

Like any new technology adoption curve, genome sequencing has gone through the typical hype cycle. We start to leverage a new technology and it becomes massively hyped as the thing that will “change everything” only to realize that we don’t know what to do with it. We then go into despair because it seemingly hasn’t […]

Increasing Access to Genome Sequencing for Clinical Diagnostics

As genome sequencing continues to decrease in price and increase in demand, the desire for many clinical organizations to leverage genome sequencing as a clinical diagnostic means continues to get traction. In a recent change, the California State Legislature approved a pilot budget and project to research the benefits of leveraging genome sequencing for disease […]

Genome Sequencing Facility Makes Move to Commoditize DNA Extraction By Offering Free DNA Extraction

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Fort Collins, Colorado, 5/17/2018 – The Sequencing Center, a next generation genome sequencing company, made a big move today by announcing free DNA extraction for any genome sequencing project that comes through their facility. The company already offers free basic bioinformatics, which includes alignment and variant analysis, as part of its efforts […]