Blogs for October 2010

Novus Biologicals offers an extensive antibody catalog targeting heat shock proteins (HSPs). A large protein group covering a number of families, the HSPs are functionally related by their dramatic upregulation in response to stress. Stress triggers may include a rise in temperature or a similar environmental cause. Transcription is controlled by the heat shock factor, or HSF, protein family.

The heat shock proteins are found in all living organisms including bacteria and yeasts. They are of particular interest to oncology researchers as they are implicated in a number of cancers, in particular breast cancer – one of the biggest killers of women in the UK. The heat shock molecules on our antibody database are identified by the prefix HSP, followed by their molecular weight, which can range from 27 to over 140 kilodaltons in size. The three most widely studied proteins are...

The NF2 gene, also known as “Merlin”, was discovered through studies into Neurofibromatosis Type II, a rare genetic disease which causes formation of non-malignant, but life-limiting, brain tumors. NF2 encodes a cytoskeletal protein involved in extracellular signalling (i.e. cell-to-cell). It is also known to act as a tumor suppressor to several membrane-bound growth factors, including the oncogene EGFR. We at Novus Biologicals have a large selection of antibodies and lysates in our catalog for Merlin studies.

Antibodystudies into EGFR have shown overproduction leads to several cancers, including hepatic cancer. A new study set out to look at the role NF2 plays in preventing formation of these...