Archive for the ‘Alzheimer’s’ Category
Tuesday, April 17th, 2012
Apolipoprotein E also known as ApoE is a 36kDa protein that is expressed in all lipoprotein fractions in plasma. This protein is produced in high quantities in the liver, brain, spleen, lung and kidney. The function of APOE is to mediate the binding, internalize and catabolize lipoprotein particles. A study carried out by researchers at the Case Western Reserve University in Ohio has recently been highlighted in the BBC Health News. They investigated the effects of ApoE as a step forward in understanding Alzheimer’s disease. The main theory behind the cause of this deadly disease is the accumulation of beta-amyloid which causes the formation of amyloid plaques in the brain. ApoE is critical in removing beta-amyloid. ApoE expression is transcriptionally induced through the action of PPAR gamma and Liver X Receptors in coordination with retinoid X Receptors. The scientists at the Case Western Reserve University administered the RXR agonist bexarotene to both young and old mice that had established amyloid plaques. This administration was followed by a rapidly lowered level of beta-amyloid within six hours in young mice and in older mice the level of amyloid plaques were halved within seven days of treatment. These findings could potentially lead to an effective treatment and possible a cure for Alzheimer’s. Here at Novus Biologicals we provide a range of top quality ApoE antibodies and support reagents for neuroscience research.
Tags: amyloid beta, amyloid beta antibody, amyloid precursor protein, Amyloid Precursor Protein antibody, Apolipoprotein E, Apolipoprotein E antibody, APP, APP antibody, Liver X Receptor, Liver X Receptor antibody, PPAR gamma, PPAR gamma antibody
Posted in Alzheimer's, Antibodies, Antibody catalog, Antibody database, Antibody suppliers, Lipid & Metabolism, Neurodegeneration, Neuroscience | No Comments »
Thursday, March 1st, 2012
Interleukin 6 is a complex pleiotropic cytokine having both anti and pro-inflammatory effects. Alterations in expression contribute to many human diseases, and the IL6 antibody is widely used in the research areas of innate and adaptive immunity, autoimmune disorders; CAD (coronary artery disease); neurological disorders; cancer and inflammatory disease. We at Novus Biologicals are one of the leading antibody suppliers for interleukin research.
IL6 is secreted by a variety of cells including macrophages, monocytes, T-cells, fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and keratinocytes, in response to LPS, TNF alpha, PDGF and other stimulants. It has a diverse number of roles, including immunity, the inflammatory response, hematopoiesis, and B-cell and nerve cell differentiation.
IL6 plays an important role in fever development, mediating the production of acute phase reactants in hepatocytes, and increasing body temperature through its action on the hypothalamus, skeletal muscle and adipose tissue. IL6 antibody studies have shown the protein is overexpressed in a number of cancers, as well as diabetes, depression, atherosclerosis, lupus, Alzheimer’s, rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Recent IL6 antibody research has focused on developing anti- IL6 therapies against some of these conditions; an anti-IL6 RA therapy has now been approved for clinical use, and a number of groups are working on IL6 antagonists targeting cancer.
Antibody suppliers now offer colorimetric and ELISA kits to aid IL6 antibody research. Our sandwich ELISA kits offer the highest level of sensitivity, using a convenient 96-well strip format to minimize waste. Our kit includes everything you need for accurate, reproducible assays; including buffers, standard solutions, IL6 antibody reagents and substrate.
Tags: Adaptive Immunity, Atherosclerosis, Coronary Artery Disease, Hematopoiesis, Inflamatory Disease, Innate Immunity, PDGF, PDGF antibody, PDGFA, PDGFA antibody, PDGFB, PDGFB antibody, Rheumatoid Arthritis, TNF alpha, TNF alpha antibody
Posted in Alzheimer's, Antibodies, Antibody catalog, Antibody database, Antibody suppliers, Cancer, Diabetes, Immunology, Inflammation, Rheumatoid Arthritis | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 1st, 2012
Apoptosis is one of the best-characterized phenomena in cellular and molecular biology. Not only is it essential for successful development, but its deregulation also leads to a number of human diseases, most notably cancer. The cysteine aspartate protease (caspase) family of proteins has been studied extensively over the past several decades and found to play a pivotal role in the execution of apoptosis; caspase activation is regarded as commitment to programmed cell death. A variety of intrinsic and extrinsic stressors are capable of initiating mediated cell death, however, transduction commonly occurs via caspase activity. Initiator caspases (8, 9, 10 and 2) are activated first, generally by binding oligomeric adaptor proteins, and subsequently activate the effector caspases (3, 7 and 6) via proteolytic cleavage.
Recent research has revealed a novel role for caspases, notably caspase-8 and -3/7, in mediating neurotoxicity in response to inflammatory stimuli in microglia. Although microglia are the primary effectors of the immune response in the nervous system, numerous studies suggest that their aberrant activation contributes to neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis. In their groundbreaking research, Burgillos, et al. show that exposure of microglia to pro-inflammatory cytokines leads to activation of caspase-3/7 and neurotoxicity associated with neurological disease. Surprisingly, they also demonstrated that inhibition of caspase-3/7 inhibited microglial activation, and that lipopolysaccharides failed to damage neighboring neurons when caspase-3/7 was abrogated chemically or with siRNA. Finally, they provide evidence that the IKK/NF-kB pathway—a canonical pro-inflammatory pathway– is also influenced by caspase-3/7 by their ability to trigger PKC-delta.
Neuronal inflammation is both a prominent cause and result of brain injury and the identification of caspase-3/7 and -8 in its etiology provides exciting new targets for potential therapies. Coupled with the advent of nano-carriers capable of traversing the blood brain barrier, caspase-3/7 could be promising substrates for novel anti-inflammatory drugs. Novus Biologicals provides several excellent antibodies to target caspase-3 and -7 (such as NB500-206 and NB500-210) that we hope will accelerate research in this field. We are committed to producing quality research materials, and look forward to learning how our caspase 3 and caspase 7 antibodies will serve the scientific community.
Burgillos MA, Deierborg T, Kavanagh E, et al. Caspase signaling controls microglia activation and neurotoxicity. Nature 2011; 472:319-324.
Tags: Casoase 7, Caspase, Caspase 10, Caspase 10 antibody, Caspase 2, Caspase 2 antibody, Caspase 3, caspase 3 antibody, Caspase 6, Caspase 6 antibody, Caspase 7 antibody, Caspase 8, Caspase 8 antibody, Caspase 9, Caspase 9 antibody, IKK, IKK antibody, Immune response, Inflammation, NFkB, NFkB antibody, PKC-delta, PKC-delta antibody
Posted in Alzheimer's, Antibodies, Antibody catalog, Antibody database, Antibody suppliers, Apoptosis, Cancer, Immunology, Inflammation, Neurodegeneration, Neuroscience, Parkinsons | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 21st, 2011
Estrogen receptors come in the form of two distinct forms, ER alpha and ER beta. These nuclear receptors are predominantly activated by the hormone 17-beta-estradiol to control transcription of genes throughout the immune, nervous, cardiovascular, and skeletal systems. The classic signaling method of these receptors involves homo- or hetero- receptor dimerization, followed by direct binding to estrogen response elements (ERE). They can also work in concert with other transcription factors, such as SP1 and Fos/Jun, to activate genes which do not contain an ERE. Estrogen receptor over-expression is extremely common in breast cancer, where it is experienced in over 70% of cases. Anti-estrogens which block ER alpha are the stable clinical therapy for breast cancer, but have side effects and are no longer useful after prolonged treatment where cancers can become resistant. Within this group, when the anti-estrogen drug tamoxifen is used, over 70% of women benefit from its use. Newer treatments that are similar to tamoxifen, such as raloxifene and tormifene, are also common, as well as complete blocking of estrogen signaling with aromatase inihbitors, which block estrogen production. In addition to the role of ERs in morphogenesis, estrogen receptors are widely expressed throughout the brain, where estrogen acts as a trophic factor for neurons. Interestingly, the use of estrogen as a neuroprotective agent against Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and stroke is currently under investigation. However, the antiapoptotic effects of estrogen in the brain, as well as its ability to downregulate proapoptotic molecules, have been shown in numerous studies.
Tags: Alzheimer's disease, Breast Cancer, c-Fos, c-Fos antibody, c-Jun, c-Jun antibody, ER alpha, ER alpha antibody, ER beta, ER beta antibody, Estrogen Receptor alpha, Estrogen Receptor alpha antibody, Estrogen Receptor beta, Estrogen Receptor beta antibody, Fos, Fos antibody, Jun antibody, Parkinson's disease, SP1, SP1 antibody
Posted in Alzheimer's, Antibodies, Antibody catalog, Antibody database, Antibody suppliers, Apoptosis, Cancer, Neurodegeneration, Parkinsons, Transcription Regulation, Tumor | No Comments »
Thursday, November 10th, 2011
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 early embryonic development.
Oct4 and Sox2 bind to a few thousand regulatory sites in the embryonic stem cell genome, and it is likely these target genes play a role in modulating ES cell differentiation. One well known gene that is activated by Oct4 and Sox2 is Nanog. Nanog, along with Oct4 and Sox2, are core transcription factors which regulate the pluripotency and self-renewal of embryonic stem cells.
In addition to helping understand the pluripotency of ES cells, antibodies against Oct4, Sox2 and Nanog have been used to investigate malignancy in human glioma cells. Recently, there have been a number of studies focusing on the expression Oct4, Sox2 and Nanog in human gliomas. More and more research is being done to uncover the role these core regulatory factors play in glioma progression and malignancy. Huge strides have been made in stem cell-related research using Oct4, Sox2 and Nanog antibodies. This research has shown great potential for discovering treatments and cures for a wide array of diseases including cancer, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and diabetes.
Tags: Embryonic Stem Cell Marker, NANOG, Nanog antibody, OCT4, Oct4 antibody, pluripotent, Sox2, Sox2 antibody
Posted in Alzheimer's, Antibodies, Antibody catalog, Antibody database, Antibody suppliers, Cancer, Diabetes, Lipid & Metabolism, Neurodegeneration, Parkinsons, Stem Cells | No Comments »
Thursday, October 27th, 2011
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 Aβ42, 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 common, Aβ42 is thought to be more toxic of the two because of its greater ability to form aggregates. The Abeta peptides are also known to produce free radicals that lead to neurotoxicity. Interestingly, the methionine at position 35 (Met-35) may facilitate this toxicity. Met-35 has the ability to become oxidized to form methionine sulfoxide, which can decrease the biological activity of the peptide. These oxidized peptides constitute a large portion of the of the Abeta population from Alzheimer’s brains. Conversion to the non-oxidized state is mediated by methionine sulfoxide reductase, whose presence is also decreased in the disease compared to control brains.
Tags: abeta, abeta 40, abeta 42, amyloid beta, amyloid beta antibody, amyloid precursor protein, APP, APP antibody, beta amyloid, beta amyloid antibody
Posted in Alzheimer's, Antibodies, Antibody catalog, Antibody database, Antibody suppliers, Neurodegeneration | No Comments »
Thursday, October 13th, 2011
The loading controls on our antibody database are widely used in gel electrophoresis and Western blotting studies. Products like the GAPDH antibody detect “housekeeping” proteins which are abundantly distributed in cells. This makes them useful for checking the even loading of gel samples, and the even transfer of proteins at the blotting stage. They also serve a purpose in quality control, by verifying reagents are working correctly, and in the standardization of experimental results.
All the loading control proteins on our antibody database are highly expressed throughout the eukaryotic cellular system, though some are localized to one particular area (e.g. COX IV is specific to the inner mitochondrial membrane.) Loading controls may be subcellular fractions, or entire proteins such as GAPDH.
Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, or GAPDH, is a stable metabolic enzyme composed of four 30-40 kDa subunits. It is highly expressed in most cells, playing an essential role in the glycolytic pathway. However, GAPDH antibody studies have shown the protein to be involved in a number of other processes, including DNA replication and repair, and initiation of transcription. It has been reported to bind to a number of other proteins, including actin and tubulin, and may play a role in the regulation of apoptosis, as GADPH migration to the nucleus has been reported in apoptotic cells. The protein is also implicated in several pathological diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease and cancer.
Because GADPH is an essential housekeeping protein highly expressed in most cell types, GAPDH mRNA levels are often used as standards in mRNA expression studies. GAPDH is also a popular loading control for Western blot assays. Other applications for the GAPDH antibody include RT-PCR (Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) studies, immunoprecipitation, immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry.
Tags: Actin, actin antibody, COX IV, COX IV antibody, COXIV, GAPDH, GAPDH antibody, Housekeeping gene, Loading control, Tubulin, Tubulin antibody, Western blot, Western blotting
Posted in Alzheimer's, Antibodies, Antibody catalog, Antibody database, Antibody suppliers, Apoptosis, Cancer, Neurodegeneration, Support Products | No Comments »
Monday, July 11th, 2011
Ubiquitin is a small, highly conserved protein which plays an important role in protein breakdown, covalently bonding to proteins to mark them for proteolytic degradation in a process called ubiquitination. Ubiquitin also binds to inclusion bodies (accumulations of protein) in pathological conditions such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. Ubiquitin antibody products are therefore useful for identifying inclusions in neuroscience research.
The Ubiquitin Proteasome Pathway, or UPP, is the principal method for protein degradation in normal cells, and central to the regulation of many cellular processes, including apoptosis; biogenesis; cell division; DNA transcription; cellular differentiation; modulation of ion channels, and DNA repair. Defects in the pathway have been linked to a number of important human diseases.
Protein degradation takes place in two stages: the protein is first covalently tagged by binding to multiple ubiquitin molecules, in a process known as conjugation, before being degraded by the 26S proteasome. Covalent linkage occurs as both single molecules and poly-ubiquitin chains, with the protein binding to lysine residues on the target protein via a series of enzymatically-controlled steps. Research with ubiquitin antibodies has shown the protein can also be conjugated to itself, resulting in diverse chain linkages. Initially, the protein was thought to play a “housekeeping” role, regulating antigenic-peptide generation and protein turnover. However, recent ubiquitin antibody studies have identified non-degenerative roles in, for example, endocytosis and DNA repair.
Ubiquitin antibodies are widely used in immunohistochemistry to identify abnormal protein inclusions. These include the neurofibrillary tangles of Alzheimer’s disease; Lewy bodies of Parkinson’s disease; Mallory bodies in alcoholic liver disease and Pick disease Pick bodies. The ubiquitin antibody can also identify the Rosenthal fibers of astrocytes.
Tags: 26S Proteasome, Antibodies, Biogenesis, Housekeeping gene, Protein Turnover, Ubiquitin, ubiquitin antibody, Ubiquitin Proteasome Pathway
Posted in Alzheimer's, Antibodies, Antibody catalog, Antibody database, Antibody suppliers, Apoptosis, DNA Repair, Neurodegeneration, Neuroscience, Parkinsons | No Comments »
Thursday, May 19th, 2011
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is known to be important for neuronal differentiation, survival, migration and plasticity in both the developing embryo and adult synapses. The BDNF antibody is also proving to be an important tool in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) research.
AD is characterized by synaptic loss and neurodegeneration. In 2009, A.H Nagahara, et al. used BDNF antibodies in a series of AD animal studies, designed to investigate the possible therapeutic benefits of BDNF when administered as a drug [PMID: 19198615]. BDNF was administered to the brains of rats and primates, specifically targeting the hippocampus and cerebral cortex – two regions which are severely impaired in AD.
A transgenic mouse model of AD was first developed, and lentiviral vectors constitutively expressing Bdnf-GFP injected into the entorhinal cortex (ERC). Synaptic marker antibodies for Green Fluorescent Protein revealed that BDNF reversed synaptic loss, with the protein elevated in the hippocampus as well as the ERC. This was to be expected, as the ERC neurons extend into the layers of the hippocampus, and BDNF is known to undergo anterograde transport along this route.
In a parallel study, administration of recombinant BDNF to the ERC of aged rats showing cognitive impairment resulted in improved memory and spatial learning in maze tests, as had been seen with the mice. Similar results were obtained in aged impaired primates.
The BDNF antibody also revealed improved BDNF overexpression improved synaptic plasticity, in an animal model of Huntington’s disease. The focus is now on identifying underlying mechanisms of action. To this end, Dean, et al. recently identified Synaptotagmin 4 as a factor in BDNF expression. We at Novus Biologicals offer a comprehensive range of antibodies and related reagents for BDNF research and related neuroscience studies.
Tags: Alzheimer's disease, BDNF, BDNF Antibody, GFP, GFP antibody, Huntington's Disease
Posted in Alzheimer's, Antibodies, Antibody catalog, Antibody database, Neurodegeneration, Neuroscience | No Comments »
Friday, May 6th, 2011
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a member of the NGF family of neurotrophins. During development it regulates the survival and differentiation of neuronal cell populations in the central and peripheral nervous system, while in adult synapses it is a major regulator of development, plasticity and transmission. We at Novus Biologicals are a leading antibody supplier for neurological research, with an extensive range of BDNF antibodies.
BDNF, like NGF, is a non-covalently linked homodimer, with an identical amino acid sequence in all known mature mammals. It is expressed at high levels in the hippocampus, cerebellum, placenta and fetal eye, and to a lesser extent in the pituitary gland, lung, spinal cord and skeletal and cardiac muscle.
BDNF plays an important role in adaptive neuronal responses, including long-term potentiation and depression, and short-term synaptic plasticity. It also plays a role in homeostasis, regulating intrinsic neuronal excitability. BDNF expression may be altered by such things as stress, seizures, ischemia and hypoglycemia. Modified BDNF expression has been linked to neuropathological disorders such as depression, Alzheimer’s, epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease.
Recent BDNF antibody studies have concentrated on activity-dependent changes (ADCs) to BDNF expression following synaptic transmission. ADCs are dependent on calcium influx, which induces transcription factors to bind nuclear calcium-response elements (CaREs).
In 2008, BDNF antibody research by Hong, et al. showed that activity-dependent BDNF expression was linked to CaRE expression and synaptic plasticity [PMID: 19038219]. In 2009, Kuczewski, et al. suggested BDNF functions as a target-derived messenger for activity-dependent synaptic plasticity [PMID: 19704877]. These experiments were dependent on products of the highest quality, supplied by leading antibody suppliers like Novus Biologicals.
Tags: Alzheimer's, Antibodies, BDNF, BDNF Antibody, Neuroscience
Posted in Alzheimer's, Antibodies, Antibody catalog, Antibody database, Antibody suppliers, Neurodegeneration, Neuroscience, Parkinsons | No Comments »
