Antibody News

OXPAT: Regulating Lipid Metabolism during Dietary Fluctuations

Monday, January 20, 2014 - 13:42

OXPAT is the mammalian form of the PAT (perilipin, adipophilin, and TIP47) gene family that consists of proteins associated with lipid droplets (LDs) in fat-storing adipocyte cells. They serve to protect LDs from natural lipases responsible for breaking them down during metabolism and are important lipid storage regulators. This phosphoprotein family has fundamental importance in lipolysis and cholesterol synthesis. OXPAT is expressed highest in high fat-oxidative tissues, such as heart, type I skeletal muscle, and brown adipose tissue and is found complexed with adipophilin in cardiomyocytes.

...

APE1: No Monkeying Around During DNA Repair

Friday, January 17, 2014 - 10:49

Apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) endonuclease 1 (APE1) plays an important role in the DNA base excision repair pathway. APE1 repairs damaged or mismatched nucleotides in DNA by hydrolyzing the phosphodiester backbone at apurinic/apyrimidinic sites (AP sites) which produces 5'-deoxyribose phosphate and a 3'-OH primer which is needed for repair synthesis. It has an absolute requirement for Mg²⁺ as a cofactor. Recently, the structure of APE1 with the Mg²⁺ cofactor was elucidated (1).

APE1 has recently been shown to play a role in regulating tumor angiogenesis. Clinical data suggests that APE1 upregulates fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) and its receptor, fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (...

NuMA: The Key to Asymmetric Cell Division

Thursday, January 16, 2014 - 14:34

Nuclear Mitotic Apparatus protein (NuMA) is a cell cycle-related protein that acts as an organizer of the mitotic spindle during mitosis. It may be involved in coordinating the alignment of the mitotic spindle to the cellular polarity axis, which is a prerequisite for asymmetric cell division. NuMA is also a prominent component of interphase cell nuclear matrix; however its role during interphase is largely unknown. It occupies the majority of the nuclear volume and is required for maintenance as well as establishment of the mitotic spindle poles, functioning as a tether linking bulk microtubules of the spindle to centrosomes.

Among its related super-pathways are apoptosis, the survival Caspase cascade and G2/M Transition. It is degraded in early apoptosis. Diseases associated with NUMA1 include acute promyelocytic leukemia, breast cancer susceptibility, measles, transitional cell...

CENPF: At the Center-o'-mere Mitotic Division (Infographic)

Wednesday, January 15, 2014 - 14:45

Centromere protein F (CENPF) also known as Mitosin, AH antigen, and kinetochore protein CENPF, is a protein that associates with the centromere-kinetochore complex. CENPF forms both a homodimer and a heterodimer. CENPF can be found in different cellular locations depending on the stage of mitosis. During G2 phase of interphase, CENPF is found in the nuclear matrix. During late G2 into early anaphase, CENPF associates with the kinetochore. In late anaphase into telophase, CENPF localizes to the spindle midzone and intracellular bridge. CENPF is degraded by the end of cellular division (1). The migration of CENPF is regulated by Forkhead transcription factor FoxM1 (2). Accumulating evidence suggests that CENPF is an important protein involved in chromosome alignment and kinetochore-microtubule interaction. Learn more about CENPF in our infographic below.

...

Novus Launches Initiative to Uncover the Antibody User's Ideal Experience

Tuesday, January 14, 2014 - 10:09

The availability of commercial antibodies for a myriad of scientific applications has had a profound positive impact on life science research. It's not surprising that the global antibody market, including therapeutics, diagnostics, and research, is now estimated at $70-75 billion.

And yet, almost half of 400 antibody users surveyed by 1DegreeBio in 2012 reported that that in 50% of cases, their antibodies did not work as expected. That’s a lot of failed experiments—and a lot of money wasted.

In some cases, user error is most certainly a factor. But there are many other problems, all beyond the scientist’s control. It could be that suppliers do not provide adequate protocols and product documentation. It could be a lack of appropriate antibody validation. It could be poor specificity, or too much variability. All these are experimental issues that can contribute to poor antibody performance, yet troubleshooting them can be difficult and ultimately ineffective.

...

RBFOX3: Binding RNA, like a FOX

Monday, January 13, 2014 - 12:44

NeuN is a RNA-binding protein that modulates alternative splicing and is localized both to the nucleus and cytoplasm. It is a member of the RNA-binding FOX (RBFOX) family of splicing regulators which includes RBFOX1 (Fox-1/A2BP1) and RBFOX2 (Fox-2/RBM9). Each FOX family member is differentially expressed – RBFOX1 in neurons, heart, and muscle while RBFOX3 is exclusively limited to neurons. RBFOX2 has a broader profile that includes the earlier mentioned tissues as well as in embryos, hematopoietic cells, and embryonic stem cells. All FOX proteins have one RNA-binding recognition domain that binds the (U)GCAUG sequence found within introns flanking alternative exons and initiates splicing.

...

SCP3: A Key to Meiotic Recombination, Sterility and Cancer

Friday, January 10, 2014 - 09:49

Synaptonemal Complex Protein 3 (SCP3), which is a protein present in the synaptonemal complex which is responsible for pairing, synapsis, and recombination of homologous chromosomes during meiosis. Meiosis, in basic terms, is where germ cells divide to produce gametes. This is accomplished through DNA replication and two rounds of cell division. During this process, chromosomes exchange segments with each other in a process called recombination. SCP3 is found in germ cells, testes and ovaries. Mutated SCP3 has been studied extensively in male sterility. A defect in this protein has been found to cause certain spermatogenic failure, which results in no sperm being present in the ejaculate. In recent years, SCP3 has been studied as a cell transformation marker with prognostic significance in several types of...

NBS1: The DNA Repair Trigger

Wednesday, January 8, 2014 - 13:35

NBS1 (Nijmegen breakage syndrome protein 1) is a component of the MRN complex (Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1) that plays important role in detecting DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) and triggering the downstream cascade. DSBs can be caused by ionizing radiation, chemotherapy drugs, metabolic ROS, replication errors, programmed enzymatic activities during meiosis/V(D)J recombination, etc. NBS1 acts as a DSB sensor, co-activator of DSB-induced cell cycle checkpoint signaling, and also the repair-effector via two competing DSB repair pathways - homologous recombination (HR) and non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ). The MRN complex also associates with...

xCT: The Membrane's Gatekeeper

Monday, January 6, 2014 - 12:23

xCT is an obligate, electroneutral, membrane-bound anionic transporter responsible for regulating particular amino acid gradients via their transport through plasma membrane. The antiporter xCT superficially resembles an ion channel and preferentially catalyzes the exchange of L-cystine for L-glutamate residues in animal cells. Unlike other glutamate transporters like EAATs, xCT functions independently of an electrochemical sodium ion gradient. xCT is present in most peripheral tissues (heart, bone, liver, and testes). The xCT system is involved in antioxidation protection, stress, and intracellular redox balance. Balza’s group employed the xCT antibody in their chemopreventive and therapeutic efficacy studies with cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitors on in vivo mouse sarcoma models (1). Their promising results suggest that combination targeting chemopreventive and therapeutic treatments could be...

LDL Receptor: Low Density, High Importance

Friday, January 3, 2014 - 13:09

The low density lipoprotein receptor coordinates the metabolism of cholesterol, an essential component of the mammalian cell plasma membranes. Study of this carefully balanced system has led to an enhanced understanding of cholesterol homeostasis at the cellular level. Receptor-mediated endocytosis (RME) is an important mechanism of metabolic regulation. Garbarino’s group used LDL receptor antibody and small hairpin RNA knockdown to show that knockdown of STARD4 in hepatocytes disrupts cholesterol trafficking between the plasma membrane, endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and endocytic recycling compartment (ERC...

Caveolin 1 Signaling and Cancer Progression

Thursday, January 2, 2014 - 11:07

Caveolin-1 (CAV1) belongs to the caveolin family of integral membrane proteins 21-24 kD in size. This family of proteins forms the structural component of the caveolar membrane in caveolae, which are the specialized domains in plasma membrane that sequester lipids and proteins. Both Caveolin 1 and Caveolin 2 are abundantly expressed in fibroblasts, differentiated adipocytes, smooth and skeletal muscle and, endothelial cells, whereas the related Caveolin 3 protein is limited to muscular tissue expression. Caveolin 1 interacts with a broad range of proteins including GLIPR2, Nostrin, SNAP25, syntaxin, rotavirus A NSP4, CD26, beta Catenin, CDH1,...

Viperin: A Cellular Inhibitor of DNA and RNA Viruses

Tuesday, December 24, 2013 - 10:55

Viperin (Virus Inhibitory Protein, Endoplasmic Reticulum-associated, Interferon-inducible) inhibits the replication of a broad spectrum of viruses by several diverse mechanisms. The protein was first identified in 2001, when it was found to be the product of an IFN gamma-inducible gene (1).

Viperin is encoded by the RSAD2 gene, and is composed of three distinct domains. The central domain and C-terminal domain are highly conserved, whilst the N-terminal domain shows variability in length and sequence between species, and is necessary for the correct localization and function of the protein. The central domain contains an S-Adenosyl-L-Methionine (SAM) domain, which has a CX3CX2C motif that is involved in iron-sulphur cluster binding and is critical for the conformational stability of the protein (2).

Many experiments have been carried out to try and establish the mechanism by which Viperin performs its...

Tyrosine Hydroxylase Deficiencies and Neurodegeneration

Monday, December 23, 2013 - 15:51

Tyrosine hydroxylase is the rate-limiting enzyme in the synthesis pathway of the catecholamines dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine. Alternative mRNA splicing generates a wide molecular diversity of TH isoforms that are tissue specific and produce variations in enzymatic activity and neurotransmitter availability at various synapses. Parkinson's disease (PD) is due to a TH deficiency, as dopaminergic neuron degeneration and low dopamine levels are both consistently seen neurochemical abnormalities upon monitoring by tyrosine hydroxylase antibody staining (1).

...

ATG5: Roles in Cellular Defense

Friday, December 20, 2013 - 10:59

ATG5, or Autophagy Related 5, is a protein crucial for autophagy. Autophagy is a mechanism in which dysfunctional or pathogenic cells or cellular components are degraded and sometimes recycled. This process happens when ATG5 conjugates with another protein and associates with a cup shaped isolation membrane. This membrane then forms an enclosed structure around the unwanted cellular debris, fuses with a lysosome, and begins degradation of cellular debris through acid hydrolysis. The regulation of ATG5 is imperative for proper immune functions, including immune cell homeostasis, metabolic syndromes and host defense of cellular pathogens. With a protein so important in cell regulation and defense, it comes to no surprise that a problem in ATG5 signaling is associated with a number of immune diseases, and when overexpressed, can cause unwanted programmed cellular death...

PINK1: Promoting Organelle Stability and Preventing Parkinson's disease

Thursday, December 19, 2013 - 14:36

PINK1 is a protein serine/threonine kinase (PTK) that protects the organelles from cellular stress and controls selective autophagy to clear damage. Exner, et al. were among the first to report that PINK1 deficiency in humans was linked to autosomal recessive occurrences of Parkinson's disease (PD) and neurogenerative pathology (1). They employed RNA interference-mediated down regulation of PINK1 and PINK1 antibody to show that their mitochondrial defect knockdown could be rescued by overexpression of Parkin, a ubiquitin-ligase complex component that has also been heavily linked to familial PD. Lin’s group examined at length the subcellular localization, processing, and stability of PINK1 with the PINK1 antibody (2).

...

CCR2: Affecting Autoimmunity via MCP1 interactions

Wednesday, December 18, 2013 - 14:00

CCR2, also known as CD192 (cluster of differentiation 192), is a chemokine receptor and is expressed by monocytes, activated T cells, B cells and natural killer cells. This protein is encoded by CCR2 gene in humans. CCR2 gene encodes two protein isoforms of a receptor for chemokines monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP1), MCP3 and MCP4. These chemokines bind and signal through CCR2 and mediate monocyte chemotaxis.

Chemokine receptors such as CCR2 are considered to play a key role in the pathogenesis in autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and atherosclerosis (1). Most autoimmune diseases are marked by the infiltration of immune cells leading to inflammation and tissue damage. Many studies have...

Beta Actin: More than Just a Loading Control

Monday, December 16, 2013 - 14:23

Beta Actin is one isoform of a multifamily of highly conserved proteins that regulate cell motility, structure, and integrity. The ubiquitous expression of beta-actin in all eukaryotic cells makes it both a historical and heavily-used internal quantitative control for protein comparative assays, as can be seen in the scientific literature and publication records. For example, beta actin antibody was employed in an ex vivo familial genome-wide genetics study identifying genomic regions of importance for chemotherapy cytotoxicity (1). In the immunology arena, beta actin antibody allowed the investigation of the effects of long-term administration of the DNA synthesis inhibitor imatinib mesylate on proliferation and delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) in primary human T-cells (2). Yang’s group examined atherosclerotic plaques in ApoE...

MMP2: From Inflammation to Cancer

Friday, December 13, 2013 - 09:24

MMP2 is an extracellular matrix degradative peptidase enzyme that belongs to the large family of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) which each have different substrate specificities. Aberrant or derailed expression of various MMPs through loss of negative checks is strongly associated with tumor invasion, metastasis, and angiogenesis, as compared to tightly controlled physiological processes such as tissue remodeling, rebuilding, and embryonic development. MMP2 antibody immunostaining coupled with computed tomography is a viable prognostic indicator for small lung adenocarcinomas. Other indicators identified include CD34, MMP9, VEGF, and TIMP2 (1). ...

TREM1: An inflammatory signal protein with a potential role in cancer

Thursday, December 12, 2013 - 12:20

TREM1 is pro-inflammatory gene that stimulates neutrophil and monocyte-mediated inflammatory responses. This protein is highly expressed in adult liver, lung and spleen. It is also present in the lymph node, spinal cord and heart tissues. TREM-1 plays a critical role in acute inflammatory responses to bacteria. In organs such as the liver, damage occurring due to irritants such as alcohol causes TREM-1 to amplify the inflammatory response by mediating a signalling pathway. This has been confirmed by Dr. Anatolij Horuzsko at Georgia Health Sciences University (1). Their research team found that chronic inflammation is caused due to TREM-1 which then stimulates pattern recognition receptor signalling pathways. This in turn initiates secretion of proinflammatory mediators, increases cell production and therefore creates mutated cells which lead to cancer. Cancer and chronic...

Aryl Hydrocarbon Signaling: AIP, AhR, ARNT, BMAL1 and more...

Wednesday, December 11, 2013 - 08:39

AH receptor-interacting protein (AIP) is a 37 kD immunophilin-like factor found in a variety of tissues with expression levels ranging from high (spleen, thymus, pituitary heart, placenta and skeletal muscle) to low (liver, kidney and lung). It mediates aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) signaling either through ligand receptivity and/or modulating nuclear targeting and has been shown to bind to both the AhR itself as well as the AhR nuclear translocator (ARNT). Historically it was originally identified as a negative regulator for the hepatitis B virus X-associated protein. Mouse knockout studies using the AIP antibody allowed researchers to determine that the association of AIP with survivin mediates mitochondrial import of...

ABCA1

Friday, December 6, 2013 - 15:36

ABCA1 is a key gatekeeper influencing intracellular cholesterol transport, and is an important member of a multifamily of cAMP-dependent anion transporter cell membrane proteins that regulate reverse cholesterol efflux from cells in peripheral tissues to apolipoprotein A1. ABCA1 has a wide expression profile with highest expression levels found in macrophages. ABCA1 antibody helped determine the role of Caveolin 1 in cellular cholesterol homeostasis in caveolin-1 deficient knockout mice (1). University of Washington researchers used ABCA1 antibodies to validate ABCA1 as an anti-inflammatory receptor, helping to explain its protective role against cardiovascular disease (2).

...

Cre/Lox: The Genomic Utility Knife

Thursday, December 5, 2013 - 13:20

Cre (Cyclization recombination enzyme) is a member of the large family of recombinases. Cre recognizes Lox site loxP, a 34 bp sequence motif from the PI bateriophage. If a DNA segment is flanked by two loxP sites in the same orientation, Cre neatly excises the segment (for later degradation) leaving a single remaining loxP site in the DNA molecule. The Cre/Lox system was first developed in the late 1980's to artificially manipulate gene expression and extensive reviews of the system exist (1). Because the Cre/lox system works in almost any type of cell, it has proven extremely useful, it has been extensively used and there are now numerous and stable animal, plant, and bacterial stocks that already contain the Cre gene driven by various ubiquitous, tissue-specific and/or inducible promoters.

...

CD34 Serves as an Important Marker in Disease Research

Wednesday, December 4, 2013 - 12:25

CD34 is a membrane protein that aids cells in cell-cell adhesion. Although little is known about its function, CD34 is an important marker for hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), muscle satellite cells, and endothelial cells. HSCs can be found in bone marrow and...

All the APE1 facts, and no monkey business

Monday, December 2, 2013 - 13:53

APE1 is involved in repairing oxidative DNA damages in vitro, regulates the redox of transcriptional factors, repairs AP sites in DNA, and is important for embryonic development in mice. Learn more about APE1 in our infographic below.

Novus Biologicals offers APE1 reagents for your research needs including:

Resources:

1. Genecards
2...

53BP1, DNA Damage Response and Tumor Suppression

Tuesday, November 26, 2013 - 13:20

53BP1 (p53 binding protein 1) was originally thought to be a p53 transcriptional enhancing partner, but now has been shown to be an ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) substrate. It is a late DNA damage response (DDR) marker, appearing in the telophase/cytokinesis phase in mitotic mammalian cells (1). 53BP1 antibody was employed to show the absence of a full DDR response in mitotic cells – this response is also suppressed by high levels of cyclin-dependent kinase1 (CDK1) activation. Another cell cycle study involving 53BP1 antibody focused on characterizing those genomic loci within metaphase chromosomes that are prone to gaps and breaks, also known as common fragile sites (2). Their findings suggest a model of DNA damage where the formation of large nuclear bodies containing 53BP1, MCD1, and OPT domains is triggered...