Advanced Targeting Systems announces a new reagent for the study of the serotonergic systems—a monoclonal antibody to the serotonin transporter (Cat. #AB-N09). This murine monoclonal is made with a peptide from an extracellular domain of rat serotonin re-uptake transporter (SERT), and thus is able to attach to cells that express SERT. Homology with the human form is very high, but very low for other transporters such as the norepinephrine transporter (NET) and dopamine transporter (DAT). Figure 1 shows FACS analysis of human platelets, which express the transporter. There is a strong shift with antibody labeled with FITC- second antibody conjugate. FACS analysis also shows no interaction with cells expressing NET or DAT, as is expected from the homology cited above. Figure 2 demonstrates excellent immunostaining by the antibody of the rat raphe nucleus, a major site of SERT expression.
This antibody is a powerful new tool for systems that are important in several biological processes, as the market sales of the anti-depressant drug fluoxetine demonstrate. It is expected, and our preliminary data are confirming, that this antibody will also be excellent for in vivo targeting of SERT-positive neurons.