UCLA researchers in the Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology have developed a set of novel and highly specific sarcospan antibodies for use in basic and translational research.
BACKGROUND: Sarcospan (SSPN) is a broadly expressed cell surface 25 kDa transmembrane protein. SSPN is critical for the function of adhesion complexes in skeletal and cardiac muscle. For instance, loss of adhesion complex function results in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Studies have also shown that overexpression of SSPN can ameliorate skeletal muscle, cardiac, and respiratory dysfunction in DMD murine models making it a promising therapeutic target. High quality SSPN antibodies are needed for basic research of SSPN interactions and translation research of SSPN-based therapy development. However, current commercially available anti-SSPN antibodies are unreliable as they exhibit significant cross-reactivity leading to high background staining. Thus, highly specific SSPN antibodies are in high demand for various fields of basic and translational biology.
INNOVATION: Researchers at UCLA have generated a novel set of antibodies that recognize human and mouse SSPN protein with superior specificity to current commercially available antibodies. The antibodies were developed against three distinct epitopes of SSPN protein: N-terminus, large extracellular loop and C-terminus. Researchers successfully generated rabbit monoclonal antibodies against mouse SSPN protein and found to be effective for the use in ELISA, immunoblotting, and immunofluorescent analysis even in low SSPPN-abundance samples. Researchers also generated mouse monoclonal antibodies for the recognition of human protein with high affinity and specificity for use in immunofluorescent analysis. No background signal was detected in SSPN null tissues. Human-specific antibodies were also able to detect native SSPN in patient muscle samples. These sets of antibodies demonstrated superior specificity and reactivity to SSPN compared to commercially available antibodies.
POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS:
- Unique research tool for basic and translational research in tetraspanin biology for the application of immunofluorescent analysis, immunoblotting, ELISA and immunoprecipitation.
- Reagent for the use of biomarker detection
ADVANTAGES:
- Superior specificity and minimal background compared to current antibodies
- Detection of native protein in human and mouse tissue
DEVELOPMENT-TO-DATE:
Developed a new panel of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies to SSPN of mouse and human origin. After clonal selection, antibodies are purified and characterized in various assays including immunoblotting, ELISA, immunofluorescence, etc.