The protein PINK1 is a mitochondrial-located serine/threonine kinase (PTK) that maintains organelle function and integrity. It not only protects organelles from cellular stress, but it also uses the selective auto-phagocytosis process for cleaning and clearing cell damage. Exner et al initially reported that, in humans, a PINK1 deficiency is linked to autosomal recessive incidences of both neurodegenerative pathology and Parkinson's Disease (PD) (1). That group employed an RNA interference-mediated downregulation of the PINK1 gene, and assessed the resulting PINK1 levels with the PINK1 antibody, allowing them to establish that their mitochondrial defect knockdown could be rescued by overexpression the parkin protein - a component of the ubiquitin-ligase complex that has also been heavily connected to occurrences of familial PD.
Puccetti’s group used the PINK1 antibody in their studies on active osteoarthritis to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and tolerance of the drug etodolac in clinical trials (2). Bacterial effector studies in enteropathogenic E. Coli (EPEC)-infected cells were published in Science with the aid of the PINK1 antibody (3). There, researchers found that the protein CHBP potently inhibited the eukaryotic ubiquitin pathway via deamidase activity upon ubiquitin itself and the ubiquitin-like protein NEDD8. To validate the authenticity of various reported substrates, Zhou’s group at Columbia undertook very detailed topology analyses using the PINK1 antibody by assessing common PINK1 mutations that disturbed both the native location and orientation of PINK1(4). Further translational studies with PINK1 antibody in Amadoro’s lab examined the role of the Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)-linked toxic NH2 human tau protein on mitochondrial morphology, dynamics, and autophagic clearance (5).
Novus Biologicals offers PINK1 reagents for your research needs including:
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