Antibody suppliers

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.

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.

For those who are new to working in this area of work, it may prove useful to outline a few tips on choosing antibodies.

Immunoglobulins are purchased as primary or secondary, and mono or polyclonal proteins. Primary antibodies bind directly to the antigen, and can be conjugated (labelled) with an enzyme or fluorescent dye, to produce a visible signal when the appropriate substrate is added. This allows direct detection of the antigen.

FANCD2 is one of a number of proteins in the FANC group. It undergoes modification in both its normal and disease state; therefore our FANCD2 antibodies are modified and conjugated in various ways for research.

FANCD2 (Fanconi Anaemia Complementation Group D2) is one of several FANC proteins involved with development of Fanconi Anaemia, a genetic disease that increases cell susceptibility to tumour development. In its normal pathway it interacts with several other genes known to cause cancer, for example BRCA1.

Not everyone knows how antibodies influence animal life, so this article is, in part, a very brief introduction. Novus Biologicals offers a printed version of their Apoptosis Catalog that contains additional information on apoptotic mechanisms; email promotions@novusbio.com to get a copy.