Antibodies

Phosphospecific antibodies, such as our c-Fos, FANCD and Survivin (phos) antibody, target the phosphorylation sites of specific proteins. We at Novus Biologicals have many hundreds of phosphor-Abs, and are constantly expanding our antibody database. Phosphospecific Abs allows analysis of key targets in cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes etc.

A growing number of studies are looking at causes of cancer at a molecular level – and discovering that hypoxia pathways play a major role. This is because HIF (Hypoxia Inducible Factor) proteins work to prevent cell death. Combined with DNA-repair pathways and the apoptosis mechanism, it’s obvious what disruption of these pathways could lead to.

Each week, our lab staff at Novus Biologicals produce, conjugate and purify hundreds of products for our antibody catalogue. Purification protocols are specific to each antibody. For example, we recently purified rabbit polyclonal anti-OCT4 to a final concentration of 1.2 mg/m, using a peptide affinity column.

Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) is a DNA-binding protein that regulates homeostasis via transcription of a wide range of genes. It is inactive in oxygenated cells, but becomes active in hypoxic, i.e. low oxygen conditions. HIF proteins consist of a heterodimeric complex of identical alpha and beta sub-units. The α is degraded in normal oxygen conditions, while the β remains independent of O2 concentration.

Hypoxia inhibiting factors protect the cell from death. Autophagy proteins do the opposite. However, hypoxia-induced autophagy has been shown to have a role in cell survival by targeting only the organelles which are oxygen-demanding i.e. mitochondria. Although useful, the mechanism has been implicated in the development of tumours, therefore antibodies against the relevant proteins feature highly in the cancer research pages of our antibody catalogue.

All cancer genomes carry somatic mutations. These include base substitutions, rearrangements, insertions and deletions (indels). Antibody suppliers have seen tremendous growth in the field of cancer research recently, with antibodies to at least 400 cancer genomes.

Studies using antibodies specific against cell cycle regulatory proteins have opened up many new avenues of cancer research. The mammalian cell undergoes 4 distinct phases during mitosis. Initiation is controlled by assembly and activation of the CDK proteins (Cyclin Dependent Kinases.) There activation is governed by phosphorylase modifications and the regulatory kinase subunit cyclins. Cyclins comprise two groups: G1 and G2, or mitotic cyclins.

Antibody suppliers have seen an enormous growth in the area of DNA repair in recent years. DNA damage causes structural changes within the cell that can cause genome mutations to occur, a common cause of tumour development and an important area of research for antibody suppliers like us at Novus Biologicals.

Research into checkpoint signalling (CPS) forms a major part of IHC research. CPS regulates DNA repair mechanisms, apoptosis and cell cycle progression. Antibody research into checkpoint proteins has also shown they play an essential role in tumour development. ATM and ATR are two important checkpoint mediators which are well reported in cancer studies.

Research facilities often require a supply of antibodies of all classes, in both their whole and fragmented forms. There are both pros and cons to using fragments in place of entire proteins. As IgG is the most prevalent class on our antibody database, we’ll cover that one first.