Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 11, 2026

Detection of Rare Mutations in CtDNA Using Next Generation Sequencing
Published on: August 24, 2017
Circulating DNA in higher organisms cancer detection brings back to life an ignored phenomenon
Abstract:
The concept of circulating DNA is derived from the early transformation experiments on bacteria. We describe first experiments done with graft hybrids which could be due to circulating DNA. Work on uptake of foreign DNA by eukaryotic cells is then reported. This work led us to discover the phenomenon of transcession in plants and animals where we showed that bacterial DNA can spontaneously enter cells of eukaryotes and be transcribed. We then outline the fact that living cells spontaneously release DNA within a homeostatic mechanism. Finally we describe in more detail some experiments suggesting that an exchange of DNA between T and B lymphocytes may have immunological implications. In this work, nude mice injected with DNA excreted by antigen stimulated human T lymphocytes produced specific antibodies expressing human characteristics.
Related Concept Videos
Cancers Originate from Somatic Mutations in a Single Cell
Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
Cancer-Critical Genes I: Proto-oncogenes
When the function of certain critical genes, especially those involved in cell cycle regulation and cell growth signaling cascades, gets disrupted, it upsets the cell cycle progression. Such cells with unchecked cell cycles start proliferating uncontrollably and eventually develop into tumors.
Such genes that act...
Mechanisms of Retrovirus-induced Cancers
Cancers Originate from Somatic Mutations in a Single Cell
Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...

