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Abstract In recent years, technological advances in tissue preparation, high‐throughput volumetric microscopy, and computational infrastructure have enabled rapid developments in nondestructive 3D pathology, in which high‐resolution histologic datasets are obtained from thick tissue specimens, such as whole biopsies, without the need for physical sectioning onto glass slides. While 3D pathology generates massive datasets that are attractive for automated computational analysis, there is also a desire to use 3D pathology to improve the visual assessment of tissue histology. In this perspective, we discuss and provide examples of potential advantages of 3D pathology for the visual assessment of clinical specimens and the challenges of dealing with large 3D datasets (of individual or multiple specimens) that pathologists have not been trained to interpret. We discuss the need for artificial intelligence triaging algorithms and explainable analysis methods to assist pathologists or other domain experts in the interpretation of these novel, often complex, large datasets.
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Engineered protein switches for exogenous control of gene expression
There is an ongoing need in the synthetic biology community for novel ways to regulate gene expression. Protein switches, which sense biological inputs and respond with functional outputs, represent one way to meet this need. Despite the fact that there is already a large pool of transcription factors and signaling proteins available, the pool of existing switches lacks the substrate specificities and activities required for certain applications. Therefore, a large number of techniques have been applied to engineer switches with novel properties. Here we discuss some of these techniques by broadly organizing them into three approaches. We show how novel switches can be created through mutagenesis, domain swapping, or domain insertion. We then briefly discuss their use as biosensors and in complex genetic circuits.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1803805
- PAR ID:
- 10339667
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Biochemical Society Transactions
- Volume:
- 48
- Issue:
- 5
- ISSN:
- 0300-5127
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 2205 to 2212
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1042/BST20200441
