Targeting Topics

Conservation of Oncofetal Antigens on Human Embryonic Stem Cells Enables Discovery of Monoclonal Antibodies against Cancer. Tan HL, Yong C, Tan BZ, Fong WJ, Padmanabhan J, Chin A, Ding V, Lau A, Zheng L, Bi X, Yang Y, & Choo A. (2018). Scientific Reports, 8 (1):11608. This study used both Hum-ZAP (Cat. #IT-22) and Streptavidin-ZAP (Cat. #IT-27) […]

Screening Aptamers as Targeting Agents to deliver Payloads. Aptamers are small, synthetic, single-stranded nucleic acids that fold into unique secondary structures. Unlike peptides and monoclonal antibodies, they are essentially non-immunogenic even when administered in excess amounts. The publications below explain how biotinylated aptamers combined with Streptavidin-conjugated saporin (Streptavidin-ZAP) can be used to screen aptamers for

Antibodies you can rely on. The authors investigated the interactions of pro-survival and pro-apoptotic receptors in Programmed Cell Death (PCD) using the sympathetic nervous system as a model. They demonstrate that Ret, a receptor tyrosine kinase required for the survival of many neuronal populations, is restricted to a subset of degenerating neurons that rapidly undergo

Selective ablation of striatal striosomes produces the deregulation of dopamine nigrostriatal pathway. Objective:  To increase knowledge in the role of the striosomal projection onto the dopamine neurons of the SNc and its impact on the nigrostriatal dopamine pathway. Summary:  Results highlight the key function of the striosomes for maintenance of the striatal dopamine tone and

Orexin-B-SAP (Cat. #IT-20): a tool for eliminating cells that express the orexin-2 receptor; targeted via orexin-B peptide, eliminated via saporin. Orexinergic Neurons Are Involved in the Chemosensory Control of Breathing During the Dark Phase in a Parkinson’s Disease Model. Oliveira LM, Falquetto B, Moreira TS, & Takakura AC (2018) Exper Neurol, 309:107-118. Objective:  To determine

Antibodies you can rely on; scientific validation for antibodies to: Serotonin Transporter (Cat. #AB-N40), Substance P receptor (NK-1r, Cat. #AB-N33AP), Melanopsin (Cat. #AB-N38, Cat. #AB-N39), Nerve Growth Factor receptor (p75, Cat #AB-N07; LNGFR, Cat. #AB-N43), 6His (Cat. #AB-213).

In 1997, Melanopsin was discovered by Dr. Ignacio Provencio as a novel opsin in the melanophores (light-sensitive skin cells) of the African clawed frog.[1]  Provencio and colleagues then found in 2000 that melanopsin is also present in mouse retina, specifically in ganglion cells, and that it mediates non-visual photoreceptive tasks.[2]   Melanopsin has since been found to be

Allopregnanolone suppresses mechanical allodynia and internalization of neurokinin-1 receptors at the spinal dorsal horn in a rat postoperative pain model. Fujita M, Fukuda T, Sato Y, Takasusuki T, & Tanaka M. (2018). Korean J Pain, 31 (1):10-15. The Neurokinin-1 (NK-1; NK1R) receptor is a G-protein-coupled receptor characterized by seven transmembrane helices which preferentially binds the

Choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) catalyzes the synthesis of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) from choline and acetyl-CoA in cholinergic neurons. ChAT serves as a specific marker for cholinergic neurons in both peripheral and central nervous systems. Dysfuntion of cholinergic neurons underlies aspects of clinical symptoms found in neurological and psychiatric disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, Down and

Li J, Rao D, & Gibbs RB. Effects of Cholinergic Lesions and Cholinesterase Inhibitors on Aromatase and Estrogen Receptor Expression in Different Regions of the Rat Brain. (2018). Neuroscience, 384 203-213. Dose:  Rats received intraseptal injections of 2.0 ml (0.2 mg/ml) or icv injections of 0.4 mcg.  Lesions resulted in loss of ChAT-positive cells in the septum, and