Tumor

PTEN antibodies have shown PTEN to be an important tumor suppressor and, in mutated form, a factor in cancer development. However, a recent study, led by Robert Rickert, shows that the SHIP gene may also be an important tumor suppressor in B-cell lymphomas. We at Novus Biologicals have an extensive range of PTEN and SHIP antibodies in our antibody catalog.

Phosphatase and tensin homologue (PTEN) antibodies are important tools for cancer research. PTEN is an important tumor suppressor but, in mutated form, is also expressed in a high number of cancers. We at Novus Biologicals have a wide PTEN antibody database, with 50 antibodies, proteins and lysates to choose from.

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.

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).

A large percentage of the products in our antibody catalog are used for cancer research. Some oncogenes are expressed in several types of tumor, while others are quite specific. For example, there are several products on our antibody database which target genes specific to nasopharyngeal carcinomas (NPC), such as UBAP1 and MMP9. Recently, a Chinese cancer study, which used no fewer than 10,000 volunteer subjects, uncovered 3 new susceptibility genes for NPC.

Novus Biologicals offers an extensive antibody databasecovering all areas of biological research. Recently, we dramatically increased the scope of our antibody catalog by adding over 800 antibodies created  using Genomic Antibody Technology (GAT), through a new partnership with SDIX (Strategic Diagnostics, Inc.). As we begin creating novel GAT reagents of our own, this database will expand still further – as there are many GAT antibodiesstill to be created.