July 2020 News

      Like many other laboratories with expertise with antibody production we have focused some urgent attention on the SARS-Cov2 virus and the ACE2 protein which it uses to enter and infect human cells. The region of the virus spike or S-protein and the corresponding virus binding region on the ACE2 protein were recently characterized so we made recombinant forms of both regions in E. coli (Prot-r-SARS-CoV2-bd and Prot-r-ACE2-bd). We now have a panel of excellent mouse monoclonal antibodies to the ACE2 binding site of the SARS-CoV2 S-protein, and are marketing the first two of these, MCA-5G8 and MCA-2G1. We also made an affinity purified rabbit polyclonal antibody raised against the same immunogen, RPCA-SARS-CoV2-bd. These antibodies can be used to identify the SARS-Cov2 virus on western blots and by immunofluorescence and may also block the binding of the virus to ACE2. Of general interest to the world, the SARS-CoV2 S-protein ACE2 binding region turns out to be an excellent immunogen, so that it is likely an ideal target for vaccine development.       We release new antibodies to β-synuclein, a mouse monoclonal and a rabbit polyclonal, MCA-6A10 and RPCA-SNCB. β-synuclein, like the closely related α-synuclein, is a major brain protein concentrated in synaptic regions. We also release new antibodies to Annexin A5 MCA-6A12 and RPCA-ANXA5. Annexin A5 is a Calcium and membrane associated protein which is upregulated when cells become apoptotic. We also release two new mouse monoclonals directed against PEA-15 MCA-4D2 and MCA-4D117. This protein was discovered as a "phosphoprotein enriched in astrocytes of 15kDa" (PEA-15) and independently as a "protein enriched in diabetes" (PED) and so is sometimes referred to as PED/PEA-15. PEA-15 is one of the large family of proteins containing a death effector domain (DED) and appears to have important functions in the regulation of cell growth, apoptosis and glucose metabolism. Finally we release a goat polyclonal antibody to myelin basic protein, GPCA-MBP, which can be used to identify and study myelin sheathes, oligodendrocytes and certain types of Schwann cell.