Simple Western technical library

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a transmembrane receptor for the epidermal growth factor family (EGF-family) of extracellular protein ligands. Ligand binding activates its intracellular tyrosine kinase domain resulting in auto as well as substrate phosphorylation. Mutation and deregulation of EGFR is implicated in many cancer types. The data shows a time dependent change in anti-phospho EGFR (Y1068) antibody signal in HeLa cells in response to EGF treatment.

The p21 activated kinases (PAK) proteins are a family of serine/threonine kinases that serve as targets for the small GTP binding proteins, CDC42 and RAC1, and have been implicated in a wide range of biological activities. PAK2 is a member of the PAK subfamily 1 including PAK1 (α-PAK), PAK2 (γ-PAK, PAKθ, hPAK65), and PAK3 (β-PAK). The kinase domains within a subfamily show a high degree of sequence identity, and all PAK proteins bind GTP-bound Rho family members at the amino-terminal p21-binding domain (PBD). Our data in HeLa cells show a pattern of 5 peaks using a pan PAK1/2/3 antibody of which two are picked up consistently by 3 different specific PAK2 antibodies identifying them as PAK2 peaks.

GSK3 is a critical downstream element of the PI3 kinase/AKT cell survival pathway whose activity can be inhibited by AKT-mediated phosphorylation at Ser21 of GSK-3α and Ser9 of GSK-3β. While GSK-3α and GSK-3β have high sequence homology, their biological function differs. The data presented shows an increase of peaks detected by anti-phospho GSK-3α antibody as well as an increase of the same peaks detected by the total anti-GSK-3α antibody in response to EGF treatment in MCF10A cells. At the same time, the peaks not recognized by the anti-phospho Ser21 antibody decrease in size, implying that these peaks represent non-phospho or non-pS21 phospho GSK-3α forms. The position of these peaks around pI 9 is in accordance with the theoretical pI for this sequence. In other cell systems (A549 for example), both the anti-total GSK-3 antibody as well as the anti-phospho GSK-3α antibody also recognize peaks around 6.0. Alignment of the GSKα and GSKβ profiles in addition to use of antibodies recognizing both isoforms confirmed the specificity of the anti-GSK-3α versus the anti-GSK-3β antibodies used (data not shown).

Thioredoxin acts as an antioxidant and is found in nearly all known organisms. It exists in two isoforms and presents a double peak around pI 4.6. The data presented show the utility of Thioredoxin as a loading control for EGF treated A549 and HeLa cells.

The 70 kilodalton heat shock proteins (Hsp70) are a family of ubiquitously expressed heat shock proteins. Proteins with similar structure exist in virtually all living organisms. The Hsp70s are an important part of the cell's machinery, and help to protect proteins from misfolding under stress. We describe its use as loading control for EGF stimulation in HeLa and MCF10A cells. In the NanoPro assay, Hsp-70 is present as a single peak around pI 5.8 under the conditions described.

β-2-Microglobulin, also known as B2M, is a component of MHC class I molecules, which are present on all nucleated cells. In the NanoPro assay, it presents a single peak around pI 6. The data show its application as a loading control for EGF stimulation in HeLa cells as well as MCF10A cells.

The Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription (STAT) proteins regulate many aspects of cell growth, survival and differentiation. The transcription factors in this family are activated by Janus Kinase (JAK). Dysregulation of this pathway is frequently observed in primary tumors and leads to increased angiogenesis, enhanced survival of tumors and immunosuppression. STAT5 is constitutively active in the overexpressing BCR-ABL K562 myelogenous leukaemia cell line. Imatinib (also known as Gleevec®), a BCR-ABL inhibitor, reduces STAT5 phosphorylation in these cells. STAT5 is also part of the Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) signaling cascade as shown in MCF10A cells.

Extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK) or classical MAP kinases are widely expressed intracellular signaling molecules involved in regulation of meiosis, mitosis, and post-mitotic functions in differentiated cells. Many different stimuli (including growth factors, cytokines, virus infection, ligands for heterotrimeric G protein-coupled receptors, transforming agents, and carcinogens) activate the ERK pathway. We show an example of ERK phosphorylation in MCF10A cells in response to treatment with epidermal growth factor (EGF).

Dual specificity mitogen-activated protein kinases (MEK) are members of the dual specificity protein kinase family, which act upstream from the classical MAP kinases through phosphorylation and thus activation of ERK1 and 2 in response to a wide variety of extra- and intracellular signals. While the functions of MEK1 and MEK2 are very similar, theses kinases differ significantly in the way they are regulated. For example, serum addition can specifically induce MEK1 activity in CHO cells. By contrast, MEK2 appears to be the functionally predominant isoform in formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine treated neutrophils. Here we show MEK2 activation in MCF10A cells in response to EGF stimulation.

c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK), originally identified as kinases that bind and phosphorylate c-Jun on Ser63 and Ser73, are mitogen-activated protein kinases which are responsive to stress stimuli, such as cytokines, UV-irradiation, heat shock, and osmotic shock, and are involved in T cell differentiation and apoptosis. JNK1, 2 and 3 share a total of 10 isoforms with pI's ranging from 5.4-7.6. All three JNK kinases share a similar Thr/Tyr phosphorylation site (T183/Y185). We evaluate change in JNK phosphorylation in UV-treated HEK293 cells and imatinib-treated K562 cells using a dual phospho-antibody against that site.

Translation repressor protein 4E-BP inhibits cap-dependent translation by binding to the eIF4E translation initiation factor. Hyperphosphorylation of 4E-BP disrupts this interaction and results in activation of cap-dependent translation. Both the PI3 kinase/Akt pathway and FRAP/mTOR kinase regulate 4E-BP activity. 4E-BP1 has been implicated as a biomarker for several cancer types, while 4E-BP2 has been shown to potentially play a role in energy homeostasis. We show 4E-BP1 activation in MCF10A cells in response to EGF using total and anti-phospho 4E-BP1 antibodies that enable distinction between phospho and non-phospho peaks.

Crk-like protein (Crk-L) is an adapter protein and phosphotyrosine-containing substrate implicated in transformation by the bcr-abl oncogene and in signaling by cytokines. It has been shown to activate the RAS and JUN kinase signaling pathways and transform fibroblasts in a RAS-dependent fashion. Crk-L is a substrate of the BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase and plays a role in fibroblast transformation by BCR-ABL. We show that Crk-L phosphorylation is reduced in response to Imatinib (commonly known as Gleevec®) treatment in K562 cells.

Epitope tags are widely used for afinity purification as well as for highly sensitive detection of recombinant proteins. The FLAG-tag
consists of a short peptide sequence (MADYKDDDDKM). EGFP was expressed with a FLAG-tag at either the C- or N-terminus of the
protein. As expected from the amino acid composition of this tag, a slight acidic shift in the pI of the tagged protein can be observed.

The enzyme-drug, L-asparaginase, has been used since the 1970s to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Asparagine synthetase (ASNS) expression has been found to be correlated with L-asparaginase efficacy in leukemia cell lines, in leukemia primary tumor samples, and more recently, in cancer cell lines from other tissues of origin. Silencing ASNS expression by RNAi has indicated the L-asparaginase/ASNS relationship is causal and suggests that ASNS expression may be useful as a predictive clinical biomarker of L-asparaginase efficacy. ASNS presents as a single peak in the NanoPro assay. Expected changes of expression are observed upon siRNA as well as L-asparaginase
treatment.

cIAP1 is a member of the inhibitor of apoptosis (IAPs) family of proteins. It is up-regulated in several human cancers and plays an important role in tumor survival. cIAP1 functions to prevent cellular apoptosis by preventing the activation and/or inhibiting the function of different caspases.

Eukaryotic elongation factor-2 (eEF2) catalyzes ribosome translocation during translation of mRNA. Phosphorylation of eEF2 by eEF2 kinase (also known as CaM kinase III) inactivates the protein and can block protein synthesis. Stimulation of growth is associated with a decrease in eEF2 phosphorylation. Inhibition of eEF2 phosphorylation in the hippocampus has recently been associated with an anti-depressant eect. We show that insulin treatment reduces phosphorylation of eEF2 in H4IIE cells. Inhibition of phosphorylation of eEF2 is restored in the presence of Nh125.

Mitofusin 1 (Mfn1) and Mitofusin 2 (Mfn2) are two highly homologous mitochondrial outer membrane proteins necessary for mitochondrial fusion. Mitochondrial fusion is necessary to maintain mitochondrial health and function, and mitochondrial dysfunction is implicated in diseases such as Charcot-Marie-Tooth 2A and dominant optic atrophy, as well as in multiple tissue types. Phosphorylation of these proteins has not been widely studied. Our data show detectoin of Mfn2 protein in three neuronal tissues: retina, optic nerve, and the superior colliculus region of the brain in a mouse model, DBA/2J, a widely accepted model for glaucoma.

The Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase p38 is activated by stress stimuli such as cytokines, ultraviolet irradiation, heat shock, and osmotic shock, and are involved in cell differentiation and apoptosis. We show that Interleukin-1 (IL-1) treatment induces phosphorylation of p38 in fibroblasts. In addition, two independent antibodies recognize peaks at pIs 5.4 and 5.8 for phosphorylated p38.

Phosphatase and tensin homologue deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) is a tumor suppressor protein that is frequently mutated or deleted in many tumors. PTEN dephosphorylates phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-triphosphate (PtdInsP3) inhibiting phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) activation of AKT repressing cell growth, proliferation and survival. Recent studies show that PTEN phosphorylation alters its stability and function.

Acetylation is a common post-translation modification typically observed on chromatin proteins as well as other regulatory proteins and metabolic enzymes. The reaction is catalyzed by N-terminal acetyltransferases, occurs predominantly during protein synthesis and appears to be irreversible. Pan-Ac-Lysine antibodies are widely used for detection of acetylation of imunoprecipitated proteins when no specific antibodies are available.

Immunotherapy has opened the door to a new era in cancer treatment where dramatically successful and durable responses are being reported. Still, the population of patients who respond are a minority, and this highlights the need for a deeper understanding of the immune response to cancer. To that end, accumulating evidence suggests that the heterogeneous makeup of the tumor microenvironment (TME) is a major contributor to the discrepancies in response observed.

In this application note, we simultaneously assess p-Akt and total Akt levels using different detection channels combined with in-capillary protein normalization to demonstrate the superplexing power Jess possesses.

シンプルウェスタンを用いてハイスループットで 糖鎖のキャラクタリゼーション

In this application note, we focus on the accurate detection of four candidate contaminants that may be present during various stages of the therapeutic protein and vaccine development processes: host cell protein (HCP), Protein A, green fluorescence protein (GFP) and bovine serum albumin (BSA).

In this how-to-guide, we'll show you how to use the Total Protein Detection Module (DM-TP01) with any immunoassay detection module of your choosing to get total protein and immunoassay data in the same run.

Laser capture microdissection (LCM) is a powerful tool to identify and isolate a pure sample of the cell type you're
interested in. But, proteomic studies with LCM samples are really restricted by the small amounts of tissue collected with
each capture since there just isn't much to work with. You often have to use the entire sample captured for traditional
Western blot analysis and that only leaves you with one data point! So, researchers often use 2D Electrophoresis and
mass spectrometry instead to max out the amount of data they can generate. Both of these methods have their own
limitations when it comes to ease-of-use and reproducibility though. Immunohistochemistry is also used to analyze LCM
samples as it's a more accessible technique, but it really doesn't give you a lot of info either.

Simple Western is an automated capillary-based immunoassay that changes the proteomic research game. You only
need 1-10 µL of LCM sample for each data point, so you'll get more data points for each sample you collect. Not to
mention the sensitivity that comes with it will even let you analyze proteins you couldn't previously do with traditional
Western blot. And it's all wrapped up in a simple workflow that minimizes your hands-on time. Simple Western is a
sensitive, easy-to-use analytical tool that ups the ante on protein analysis with LCM samples.

In this application note, we'll show you two examples of how Simple Western changed what researchers could do with
their precious LCM samples for the better

The Simple Western Immunoassay is the gel-free, blot-free and hands-free solution for researchers looking for a better way to get their Western blot data. The simple fact that you get analyzed data in just three hours with only 30 minutes of hands-on time changes things forever!

Wes takes the benefits of Simple Western assays a step further by simplifying their workflow with pre-filled plates and disposable capillary cartridges. This application note gives an overview of how to transfer a traditional Western blot assay to Wes.

RNA interference (RNAi) is an RNA-dependent gene silencing mechanism that can affect the expression of specific genes by inhibiting translation or suppressing transcription epigenetically. Using Firefly assays, RNAi effects such as impact on phosphorylation or silencing can be studied functionally in samples as small as 100 cells. An additional benefit of the small samples size is that a variety of conditions can be studies in a single assay.

ProteinSimple offers a range of research tools to study the biological processes that accompany neurological/neurodegenerative disease.

Meet Jess, your protein analysis problem solver. Jess automates the protein separation and immunodetection of traditional Western blotting, eliminating many of the tedious, error-prone steps. Just load your samples and reagents into the microplate and Jess does the rest.

Protein analysis comes with many challenges—labor-intensive protocols increase time to result and multiple hands-on steps increase user error and data variability. At best, you end up with Western blot-like,
semi-quantitative results when what you really need, and deserve, is highly reproducible immunoassay quantitation. Discover more and solve your protein analysis problems with Simple Western.

Electrophoresis eBook

In this eBook, we examine technological advances in protein analysis that are at the forefront of immuno-oncology research and therapeutic development.

Research into prevention and treatment of disorders of the brain and nervous system are in greater demand as the world’s population expands. This group of diseases result in more hospitalizations than any other group, including heart disease and cancer. Odds are that you know someone affected by a neurological disorder, as The World Health Organization estimates that one billion people are affected by them, contributing to 11% of the world’s disease burden.

Proteins are the heart and soul of functional biology and understanding proteins is central to understanding disease. However, proteins are difficult to interrogate because they are large, complex, and unique. Here at ProteinSimple, we believe that traditional protein analysis tools can be overly complex or inadequate, and our goal is to make protein analysis simpler, more quantitative, and affordable. Ultimately, we want to help researchers gain a better understanding of proteins and their role in disease.

“I was able to screen various antibodies in a single run within half a day. This had previously taken weeks and months using traditional Western blotting methods.”

"Wes allows us to measure cell signaling proteins from a single muscle fiber segment by lowering our limit of detection nearly ~20-fold from Western blotting. It also allows for much more precise, reproducible, and faster results to be generated, in addition to far greater ease of operation, analysis, and waste disposal."

“Wes is easy to use, convenient, and gives answers quickly. The throughput and system automation is a definite advantage.”

— Jane Gray, Ph.D., Head of Research Instrumentation, Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute

"Wes gives me more throughput so I can get more replicates and trust my results a little bit more, and I can trust them straight away rather than having to do a lot of repeats. And obviously I like getting results the same day rather than having to wait two days."

— Emma Wilson (née Humphrey), Ph.D., Lecturer in Molecular Biology, Institute of Medicine, University of Chester

"The no-gel, no-transfer, no-membrane features are beneficial for the reproducibility of the assay. I really like this system over traditional Western."
— Kazuya Machida, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, UConn Health

"We had been trying to study receptor proteins with traditional Westerns but it was frustrating — we just could not get it. A few months with Wes and we've already had way more success than we had in three years."
— Brian Perrino, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, University of Nevada School of Medicine

”We collect samples from laser microdissection and were using our entire sample on just one regular Western blot. With Wes, we can do multiple assays with one sample collection.“
— Mary Howell, Laboratory Coordinator, Department of Internal Medicine, East Tennessee State University

We want to keep you updated on all of our advances in protein discovery and analysis, so here is our quarterly newsletter. It's never been easier to see what we're up to because each page covers a product platform and, if you want to attend an event, all you have to do is click on it to register. From new application notes and publications to product updates, we've got you covered.

The goal of personalized medicine is to stratify individual patients to the appropriate treatment. This approach depends on extensive characterization of individual tumors and their sensitivity to therapeutics. In the context of the immunotherapy of cancer, information on the localization, abundance and activation of immune cells within individual tumors gained in importance. Here we present a preclinical drug testing model to monitor individual drug responses of patients to targeted immunotherapy with the checkpoint inhibitor Nivolumab (anti- PD-1) and subsequent applications. In this study, we were able to determine different populations of infiltrating immune cells within viable tumors from colorectal cancer patients using our drug testing platform and a variety of subsequent applications.

Analysis of immune cells was conducted on disaggregated cells from viable tumor slices. Disaggregation of precision cut cancer tissue slices was performed using the GentleMACS from Miltenyi. Immune cell subsets were analyzed by flow cytometric multiplexing of CD3, CD4, CD8 and CD45. Furthermore, we identified PD-1 positive cells among the CD45+/CD3+ lymphocyte population, indicating relevance for anti-PD-1 targeted therapy in colorectal cancer. Presence and localization of immune cells (CD45+) was confirmed by immunohistochemistry of tumor tissue slices. In addition, protein expression of CD8 and PD-1 was analyzed by Simple Western Size analyses. Cytokine secretion affected by Nivolumab treatment was analyzed in supernatants of tissue cultures using the proinflammatory panel from Meso Scale Discovery. The results demonstrated that immune cell compositions were stable and uniform within our precision cut cancer tissue slices both pre- and post-cultivation, and pre- and post-treatment with Nivolumab.

AXL, a tyrosine kinase receptor, is expressed in a variety of cancers and has been revealed as the most highly expressed gene in preclinical models with acquired resistance, and second most common alteration in EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) inhibitor-resistant tumors, behind the T790M mutation. It has become obvious that targeted therapy of patients has to be monitored by taking and analyzing biopsies on a regular basis. Therefore, laboratory methods have to be adapted.

Mcl-1 is an anti-apoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family of proteins and is frequently amplified or over-expressed in both solid tumors and hematological malignancies, suggesting that its activity may be important for the survival of cancer cells. CDK9 inhibition results in the down regulation of Mcl-1 mRNA and subsequent protein levels by inhibiting transcription and represents an indirect approach to targeting Mcl-1. Mcl-1 can also be targeted directly using an inhibitor that disrupts the Mcl-1 complexes to induce apoptosis.

IRAK1 is a kinase which has been identified as a key regulator of cytokine signaling and is known to be involved in innate immune responses. Overexpression of these pleotropic cytokines have been implicated in various autoimmune diseases. Antagonists have shown clinical efficacy via modulation of various pro-inflammatory cytokine signals in various mouse models including the collagen induced arthritis (CIA) model. The identified project need was to demonstrate the engagement of IRAK1 with in-house chemical entities in-vitro by generating IC50s and ex-vivo using mouse tissue from the CIA model. To achieve this goal, a quantitative Capillary Western protein degradation assay was developed.

The enzyme-drug L-asparaginase (L-ASP) has been used for four decades to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia. However, its unique mechanism of action is still poorly understood, and its clinical efficacy has proven unpredictable. Those problems have prompted a continuing search for biomarkers that predict L-ASP response. We previously found that the expression of asparagine synthetase (ASNS) is strongly negatively correlated with L-ASP anticancer activity in ovarian cancer cell lines, suggesting that L-ASP might be effective against a low-ASNS subset of ovarian cancers if salient characteristics of the cell lines reflect clinical ovarian tumors. However, quantitatively robust, single-antibody assays for ASNS expression have been absent from the literature. We therefore used a capillary-based isoelectric focusing (IEF) platform (the NanoPro 1000) to screen twelve ASNS antibodies for their specificity and sensitivity. Only two antibodies exhibited completely on-target activity (as shown by signal ablation by ASNS siRNA) and sufficient sensitivity. The on-target activity corresponded to a single band on Western blot and a single peak on the NanoPro 1000, suggesting the existence of just one ASNS protein isoform. Optimized, final NanoPro assay conditions yielded less than 8% CV, a 160-fold dynamic range, and Z′-factor of 0.82, indicating a robust assay that is amenable to high-throughput screening. We next used the best ASNS antibody to develop an immunohistochemistry (IHC) assay for ASNS. As with the NanoPro assay, optimized IHC conditions yielded a large dynamic range of staining intensity, and staining was completely ablated by ASNS siRNA. To test the hypothesis that subsets of various cancer types express very low levels of ASNS, we have initiated ASNS IHC of more than 20 tissue arrays representing a wide variety of cancer types. Using a 3-point scoring system (0 = negative, 1 = low, 2 = high), among the tumor samples assayed, 90/136 (66%) of bladder cancer, 63/133 (47%) of bone cancer, 32/149 (22%) of breast cancer, 29/115 (25%) of brain cancer, 51/168 (30%) of colon cancer, 2/85 (2%) of endocrine system cancer, 23/99 (23%) of liver cancer, 7/64 (11%) of head and neck cancer, 7/136 (5%) of lung cancer, 13/53 (25%) of lymphoma, 1/25 (4%) of bone marrow lymphoma, 2/35 (6%) of lymphoma from spleen, 9/109 (8%) of melanoma, 81/396 (21%) of ovarian cancer, 3/29 (10%) of uterine cancer, 27/73 (37%) of pancreatic cancer, 5/119 (4%) of prostate cancer, 10/125 (8%) of renal cancer, 25/138 (18%) of testicular cancer, and 8/39 (21%) of thyroid cancer were ASNS-negative (score = 0), suggesting that a subset of each cancer type may be sensitive to the drug L-asparaginase. Efforts are underway to apply the NanoPro assay to the NCI-60 cell line panel and to continue performing ASNS IHC to survey tissue arrays for ASNS expression.

Novel inhibitors of the hypoxia pathway [VEGF, PDGF] achieve response rates of 30-57% in renal cell carcinoma (RCC); yet threshold levels of targets and downstream signaling proteins have not been identified as biomarkers to guide treatment.

Methods: To profile hypoxia proteins in RCC clinical specimens, we have developed the use of automated nanoscale immunoassays for charge-based protein separation (NIA, NanoPro 1000) and charge-based
protein separation (Simple Western, Sally). To decrease the amount of tissue and invasive procedures required to obtain cells for analysis, we optimized assays to profile specimens acquired by fine needle aspiration (FNA).

Results: We used Simple Western to quantify proteins of the MAPK (ERK1, ERK2, pERK1, pERK2, MEK2), PI3K (S6, GSK3b, AKT2, pan-AKT) and STAT pathways (p-STAT5) and loading controls (tubulin, HSP-70) in more than 200 FNA's from solid tumors including RCC. Profiles can be completed overnight after receiving the specimen. Unique to NIA, we also analyzed percent phosphorylation and resolved differences in even a single phosphorylation in FNA specimens, allowing us to group tumors based upon different patterns of phosphorylation and percent phosphorylation.

Conclusions: Rapid and quantitative nanoproteomic profiling in very small amounts of clinical specimen is enabling translational studies for novel diagnostic and predictive biomarkers.

Size-based characterization of proteins has been predominately performed by either SDS-PAGE/Western blot analysis or by capillary electrophoresis (CE). Each technique has advantages � Western blotting exploits high sensitivity as well as specificity of antibody binding, and CE offers high resolution and reproducibility. The sensitivity and resolution of the results obtained from either method is often challenged by the ability to preconcentrate or stack enough protein sample before separation. Simon, a new size-based separation platform that runs Simple Western assays, combines for the first time the advantages of both Western blotting and CE into a single automated workflow. The work presented illustrates the dependency of stacking efficiency upon the plug length of the sample and stacking matrix. Optimization of stacking conditions resulted in a significant sensitivity and resolution increase using the Simple Western assay.

Application of a novel nano-immunoassay platform to assess changes in cIAP1 in response to the SMAC-mimetic, LCL161

Here we describe a precise screening assay that quantifies changes in phosphorylation of proteins in samples from as few as 100 cells, which is simple, rapid, and relatively low in cost. A nano-immunoassay system (Cell Biosciences) was used to measure changes in expression and activation of relevant signaling proteins, including MEK, ERK and STATs in U937 monocyte cells before and after cytokine treatment. A single pan-specific antibody was used to distinguish between the phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated protein isoforms, as the nano-immunoassay (NIA) method separates different phosphorylated forms of a protein based on their isoelectric point. In parallel, phospho-protein FACS analysis, which is the current state of the art for measuring multiple signaling pathways, was performed to compare changes in expression and phosphorylation of the signaling proteins. Phospho-protein FACS analysis is expensive and requires considerable technical expertise, which limits its application for large numbers of samples. This novel nano-immunoassay screening method is currently being employed at the Stanford Human Immune Monitoring Core (HIMC) and is being used for high-throughput screening of compounds that influence monocyte activation, monocyte/macrophage differentiation and analysis of various disease states in small primary tissue samples. Practical examples will be given.

Cell Biosciences' novel nano-immunoassay screening method is being adopted in an ever-increasing range of institutions, thanks to an innovative collaborative effort collaborative effort between Stanford's Human Immune Monitoring Core (HIMC), Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Cell Biosciences.

The precise screening assay quantifies changes in phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated protein isoforms in tiny samples. Notably, the assays are simple, rapid, and relatively low in cost.

The centralized location of the instrument, and unique collaborative environment have enabled rapid development and adoption of Firefly assays - first within Stanford, and now extending to other institutions, both academic and commercial.

Oncoprotein quantification in clinical specimens is important for the diagnosis of specific hematopoietic malignancies as well as the development and monitoring of effective therapies that target oncoproteins. Current protein detection methods require large samples, precluding routine serial tumor sampling to assess changes in oncoprotein levels. Here we demonstrate the use of a nano-immunoassay system (Firefly™ system) to distinguish between patient specimens of Burkitt's vs. Follicular lymphoma by characterizing patterns of MYC and BCL2 expression. Changes in the expression and activation of a variety of onco/signaling proteins including ERK, MEK, STAT and JNK in malignant hematopoietic (CML) cells and patient samples before and after treatment with therapeutic agents that impact oncogenic signaling pathways are also shown. The expression levels of the different proteins were measured with high sensitivity in samples as small as 400 cells. A key benefit of this technology is that it separates protein isoforms based on its isoelectric point. Using this assay, we were able to distinguish and quantify the phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated forms of each protein with a single antibody. Thus, we have developed a novel technique which can precisely evaluate the activity levels of signaling proteins in oncogenic pathways from very small samples.

The discovery of tumor stem cells in acute myeloid leukemia a decade ago initiated a field of research has accelerated growth in the past few years. Researchers are now describing tumor stem cells in a variety of hematopoietic and solid tumors. The impetus for much of this research is the desire to identify targets for drug intervention in these critical tumor populations. The molecular pathways that functionally define these cells are important therapeutic targets. Tumor stem cells are rare and provide insufficient material to use standard assay methods. Although DNA microarray and/or qPCR are used to study tumor stem cells, their rare nature limits quantitative protein analysis. This creates a gap in our knowledge since many proteins, such as beta-catenin or MAPK signaling proteins, are not regulated at the transcriptional level, but through post-translational modifications (phosphorylation, ubiquitination, etc.). Here we describe a technique utilizing a nanoimmunoassay platform (Firefly?) to measure tumor stem cell proteins. Transitional tumor stem cells (TCC+) were sorted from a patient tumor and lysed for analysis. A lysate of 400 cells was subjected to isoelectric focusing and immobilization. Immunodetection was performed and quantitation of signal was measured using HRP-labeled secondary chemiluminescence reagents. Here we report beta-catenin protein concentrations of 192 ng/mg of total protein in the tumor stem cells, which was undetectable in 'non-stem' tumor cells. Comparisons of protein levels and the degree of phosphorylation are made between these samples, other tumor cell lines and hematopoetic stem cells.

これらのDetection Moduleは、Separation Moduleと一緒に使用し、分子量に基づいた シンプルウェスタンで1次抗体を用いてターゲット分子を検出するのに必要なすべて の試薬を含んでいます。

Jess Protein Normalization for Immunoassay Module

These Detection Modules provide all the reagents needed to detect your target of interest with a primary antibody in a Simple Western size-based assay when paired with a Separation Module.

These Detection Modules provide all the reagents needed to detect your target of interest with a primary antibody in a Simple Western size-based assay when paired with a Separation Module. Please note these Detection Modules can only be used with Jess.

シンプルウェスタンTotal Protein Assayを用いたCompassソフトウェア
クイックリファレンスガイド

A previously undescribed isoelectric focusing technology allows cell signaling to be quantitatively assessed in <25 cells. High resolution capillary isoelectric focusing allows isoforms and individual phosphorylation forms to be resolved, often to baseline, in a 400-nl capillary. Key to the method is photochemical capture of the resolved protein forms. Once immobilized, the proteins can be probed with specific antibodies flowed through the capillary. Antibodies bound to their targets are detected by chemiluminescence. Because chemiluminescent substrates are flowed through the capillary during detection, localized substrate depletion is overcome, giving excellent linearity of response across several orders of magnitude. By analyzing pan-specific antibody signals from individual resolved forms of a protein, each of these can be quantified, without the problems associated with using multiple antibodies with different binding avidities to detect individual protein forms.

ＨＤＲはHigh Dynamic Range(高いダイナミックレンジ)を表します。写真撮影においては最初に露出を変えながら複数の画像を撮影した後で、特殊なアルゴリズムを用いて、これらの画像のベスト部分を組み合わせて自動的に最良のイメージを作成します。 SimpleWestern®のＨＤＲも同様なアルゴリズムに基づいています。 ダイナミックレンジが広がると、貴重なサンプルを無駄にしたり、アッセイの最適化に多くの時間を取られることもなくなります。アッセイの最適化の時間を短縮するために、アッセイの検出ステップとデータ解析の両方を強化するＨＤＲ検出プロファイルを利用してWesのダイナミックレンジを拡大しました。

Jess, the newest Simple Western™ technology from ProteinSimple, allows you to not only run fully automated capillary-based Westerns, but she takes digital images of traditional chemiluminescent Western blot membranes. ProteinSimple’s AlphaView® software allows you to analyze Western blot images taken on Jess so that you can prepare publication-ready figures. In this tech note, we’ll show you how to export your images from Jess into AlphaView, and we’ll cover the tools that you’ll need to get the most out of your Westerns.

If you’re experiencing primary antibody derived cross reactivity with the 230 kDa protein used as one of fluorescent standards, we’ve got a solution.

In this technical note we show you how this new assays works and give you a couple examples comparing Simple Western performance with traditional Western.

Multiplexing two targets in one capillary with Simple Western doubles the number of data points per sample and increases the data quantitation accuracy when you normalize to biological loading control or system control.

When you're ready to start multiplexing, first optimize the primary antibodies separately to find the saturating dilution for each. Then combine them in Antibody Diluent 2 to detect the two targets in the same capillary. If the primary antibodies are raised in two different host species, you'll also need to combine two different anti-species secondary antibodies. But mixing Ready-To-Use (RTU) secondary antibodies will dilute them and cause the signal to decrease or become more variable because they're no longer saturating. We've got the situation under control with the 20X Anti-Rabbit HRP Conjugate.

An immunoassay with a large dynamic range lets you simultaneously see really high and really low signal at the same time. This means not needing to spend time either diluting or concentrating your samples to get your protein of interest in the detected dynamic range. Wes® has always been great at detecting really low levels of protein and now we’ve improved what you’ll see on the high end, giving you at least one more log in dynamic range compared to a Traditional Western blot.

This user guide will provide you with information on how Simple Western assays work as well as other useful operating and installation information.