antibody clones? - (Jun/21/2005 )

Hi,

I may just be totally naive but can someone answer this question for me? I am looking into ordering a antibody for Cyclin E1 to determine the relative levels of total protein in response to a novel anti-proliferation drug. The companies which I have looked into have all offered multiple clones of this antibody. Do the clones just have specificity to a particular type of tissue? or should they all act the same? If thats the case why are multiple clones significant? I am looking at breast cancer cells.

Thanks!

Hi,

Different antibody clones have different properties. Some could be different antibody isotypes or made against peptides of the protein, whole protein, different parts of the protein etc. etc. Therefore different antibodies generally have very different properties.

Given there is a number on the market it suggests that some antibodies are showing defficiencies in certain areas ie. some may be good for western but not histology, some may IP while others won't, some may even be functional inhibitors etc.

Given that you are looking at total Cyclin E1 you probably just need to find a clone that Western Blots, the best way I find is to ignore the company rhetoric and find a number of papers looking at Cyclin E1 levels and see which clone they used.

Hope this clears it up.

Scott

Companies do some type of screening usually elisa. Any positive response they get...Bingo! a new product to add to their catalog. The work falls upon the customer to screen the ab for his/her specific application. Check the litterature first for a specific reference. If you a doing a paired ab system you should request from the supplier any "pairing information" they may have. Note: abs from one company many pair with those from another but you will have to do the work!