Antibody News

The DMC1 gene encodes a 36.7 kDa nuclear protein involved in meiotic homologous recombination. This recombinase is functionally related to the yeast RAD51 and E. coli RecA genes. In contrast to RAD51, which functions in both mitotic and meiotic recombination, DMC1 works specifically in meiotic recombination. Despite this difference, the RAD51 and DMC1 recombinase are structurally similar but not identical in nature. This has led to the speculation that regulatory elements play a key role in the expression and function of these 2 recombinases.

Recent research show that the RAD51 associated protein 1 (RAD51AP1) binds not only to RAD51 but also to DMC1.  Using mutations and point mutations the authors showed that RAD51AP1 contains a WVPP motif that allows DMC1 to bind at this specific site, but not RAD51....

Histone modification is known to affect transcriptional access to chromatin. Therefore, high quality histone modification specific antibodies are necessary to understand and explain the specific roles that these epigenetic modifications play in transcription regulation. Unfortunately, many of the commercially available histone modification antibodies are designed against short immunizing peptides and lack specificity to the full-length modified histone.

In work presented at last week’s meeting of the Amercian Society for Cell Biology, researchers at 21^st Century Biochemicals and...

The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma, co-activator 1 (PGC-1 alpha or PPARGC1A) gene encodes a 91 kDa nuclear protein that acts as a transcriptional co-activator involved in energy metabolism. Interaction with PPAR gamma allows it to interface with numerous transcription factors such as cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) and nuclear respiratory factors (NRFs). It is believed to be a master integrator between external stimuli and cellular response, in particular mitochondrial biogenesis. It is also a major factor in muscle type determination. Recent research has shown that single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) mutations were associated with specific meat characteristics in pigs, which may lead to improvement in pork meat...

BRCA1, also known as breast cancer type 1 susceptibility protein and RING finger protein 53, belongs to a class of genes known as tumor suppressors. BRCA1 regulates cell growth and division, and is also involved in DNA repair. There have been hundreds of BRCA1 mutations identified, and many of them are associated with an increased risk of cancer.  A woman who inherits a harmful BRCA1 gene mutation is at greater risk of developing breast and/or ovarian cancer in her lifetime.  BRCA1 gene mutations can also cause cervical, uterine, pancreatic, and colon cancer in women.

Mutations to the BRCA1 gene can be...

Carbonic Anhydrase IX (CA-IX) is an enzyme that is induced under hypoxic conditions. This enzyme is rarely present in normal cells and is responsible for controlling tumor pH. CA-IX is a transmembrane glycoprotein of the zinc metalloenzyme family. This family displays 15 isoforms in human tissues. Carbonic Anhydrase IX functions to convert carbonic acid present in hypoxic cells into a biocarbonate and a proton. Due to the hypoxic conditions found in many tumors CA-IX has become a marker of hypoxia and expression has been associated with several tumors such as lung, brain, colorectal, ovarian, renal, breast, and cervical to name a few.

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Embryonic stem (ES) cells are cells derived from the inner cell mass of the blastocyst, an early-stage embryo. ES cells are distinguished from other cells due to their pluripotency, which is the ability to differentiate into any different type of cell in the body, and also their capability of propagating indefinitely. These two factors make embryonic stem cells valuable tools in the scientific community, especially in regenerative medicine.

Sox2 and Oct4 are well known transcriptional activators that play a crucial role in the regulation of embryonic stem cell pluripotency. When Oct4 and Sox2 expression is knocked down, embryonic stem cells lose the ability to maintain their pluripotency. Research using gene-knockout experiments has shown the importance of Oct4 and Sox2 in...

Research antibodies have long been used to advance HIV/Aids research, however researchers at the California Institute of Technology have recently published a study [PMID: 22033520] developing a new antibody that may someday be used clinically to neutralize HIV. Beginning with a naturally occurring antibody (NIH45-46) purified from HIV positive patients, the researchers modified the antibody using a technique called structure-based rational design. The resulting antibody (NIH45-46G54W) showed some promising new characteristics, including improved specificity and binding against the host receptor (CD4) for many HIV subtypes. This binding neutralizes the HIV by effectively blocking access to the receptor and therefore stopping the proliferation of the virus.

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By Eric Neeley

Alzheimer's disease is a devastating neurodegenerative illness characterized by the formation of plaques, tangles, and eventually synaptic loss. Amyloid beta (Aβ) is the processed form of the Amyloid precursor protein (APP), and whose aggregation eventually forms the amyloid plaques of the disease. APP is cleaved by alpha, beta, and gamma secretases to form numerous peptide isoforms of various lengths, but most common are Aβ₄₀ and Aβ_42, which are created by the later of the secretases. Both forms of the peptide are important for research, as is the need for tools that can differentiate between the two. Although Aβ₄₀ is more...

The main function of the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) family was originally thought to be restricted to degradation of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. However, studies with their antibodies have identified several other functions. We at Novus Biologicals have an extensive range of MMP antibodies for research.

The MMP family is divided into two subgroups: soluble MMPs, and membrane-type MMPs (MT-MMPs). Studies using transmembrane MMP antibodies have shown a pivotal role in tumourigenesis, with expression raised in many types of cancer.

Work with MMP2 antibodies identified the enzyme as a possible early tumour marker. MT1-MMP (also called MMP-14) activates MMP2; antibody experiments have suggested this interaction may be involved in tumour invasion. Elevated expression of MT1-MMP has been strongly linked to tumour cell growth, differentiation and migration, leading to...

Microglia are the resident macrophages of the central nervous system, and the first line of immune defense. Pioneering antibody research in the 1990's identified the Integrin beta 2 protein (also called ITGB2, complement receptor 3, CR3, CD18, and Mac-1) as one of the key proteins in the recruitment of microglial cells. The ITGB2 subunit A is commonly called CD11b, and antibodies to this subunit are widely used as microglial markers. An alternative name for CD11b is Integrin alpha M, or ITGAM. It associates non-covalently with CD18 to form the CR3 integrin. CR3 is highly expressed on leukocytes of the innate immune system, including neutrophils, monocytes and NK cells, but less so on macrophages. Antibody studies have shown CR3 to mediate inflammation by regulating leukocyte migration and adhesion, and to be...

The hypoxia inducible factors are a family of heterodimeric transcription factors which are activated in response to lowered oxygen levels, or hypoxia. Although it may seem that HIF-1 alpha receives all the attention, other HIF antibodies, such as the HIF-2 alpha and HIF-1 beta antibody, are frequently used in clinical research as well. The three human hypoxia inducible factors HIF-1, 2 and 3 are transcriptional complexes consisting of an alpha and beta subunit. Each of the six subunits is encoded by a different gene. In normoxic conditions the subunits are non-dimeric, combining to form a functional complex when triggered by hypoxia. The alpha subunit is unique to the hypoxic response and rendered inactive in the cytosol in normoxic conditions. However, HIF-1 beta antibody research has shown...

SOX2 encodes a member of the SOX (SRY-related HMG-box) family of transcription factors, which play a vital role in embryonic development. SOX2 antibody research has identified Sox2 as a key transcription factor in pluripotent stem cells. We at Novus Biologicals offer a number of top quality SOX2 products in our stem cell antibody catalog.

Embryonic stem cell research has shown NANOG, SOX2 and OCT3/4 to form the core of the self-renewal transcription network in pluripotent ESCs, sharing transcription of numerous genes. Selective down regulation of these genes induces differentiation and halts pluripotency. In recent experiments, a pluripotent stem cell state was achieved in adult somatic cells, by forced expression of NANOG, SOX2, OCT4 and...