Antibody database

The antibodies in our stem cell antibody catalog are used in many areas of research, from developing therapies to investigating cancer. These research areas are related, because although pluripotent stem cells have the potential to replace organ transplants and heal paralysis, they also have the potential to develop into cancerous cells.

Tau proteins are abundant in the axons of neurons in the central nervous system (CNS), and play a key role in microtubule formation and stabilization. Antibody studies have identified six tau isoforms, all produced by alternative mRNA splicing of the MAPT gene. We at Novus Biologicals have nearly 50 antibodies matched to tau proteins on our antibody database.

We at Novus Biologicals have added several new products to our CD antibody database. The CD, or Cluster of Differential proteins are a family of type I transmembrane glycoproteins widely expressed in immune cell populations. These include B cells, thymocytes and peripheral T cells. Widely used as cell markers, a recent antibody study identified three CD proteins - CD44+, CD49fhi, and CD133hi – as new cell markers in an aggressive, but uncommon type of breast cancer.

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.

Human cancer research is the largest research area in our antibody database, with new oncogenes and cell lines being added all the time.

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).

The Merlin protein belongs to the ezrin/radixin/moesin (ERM) family of tumour suppressor proteins. Encoded by the rather less imaginatively named Neurofibromin 2 (NF2) gene, it is thought to play a role in extracellular signal transduction, linking the cell cytoskeleton with membrane-bound proteins and suppressing several receptors, including the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR).

The SLC26A3, also known as DRA (downregulated-in-adenoma) gene is a member of the sulphate anion transporter family, serving an important role in the exchange and transport of chloride, bicarbonate and sulphate ions at plasma membrane sites. We at Novus offer a growing selection of antibodies, recombinant proteins, lysates and RNAi for SLC26A3 within our reagent database.

Our antibody database is primarily focused on protein-coding genes. Although they form only 1% of the total human genome, these important genes account for 85% of the mutations that lead to disease.

Just 10 years after the first human genome was drafted, DNA sequencing has transformed the way we tackle serious diseases. By looking at individual genes and targeting their proteins with relevant antibodies, we have gained a far clearer understanding of how the body works at a molecular level, and the complex ways in which things can go wrong. As we delve further into these protein pathways, so the relevant antibody catalog are updated too.