Antibodies play a vital role in research as powerful tools for studying protein interactions and signaling pathways. They are widely used in various experimental techniques to detect, isolate, and characterize specific proteins of interest. Here are some ways antibodies are used in research:
Immunofluorescence
Immunofluorescence is a technique commonly used for protein detection by visualizing protein interactions and confirming cellular localizations. Antibodies that selectively bind to target proteins of interest are tagged with a fluorescent dye. For specific staining, several proteins are labelled with antibodies linked to different fluorophores, and confocal microscopy is used. If the merging of images reveals an overlapping signal, this indicates protein co-localization.
Immunoprecipitation
By immobilizing antibodies on solid supports, such as agarose or magnetic beads, proteins of interest can be captured from cells or tissue extracts. This enables the precipitation of proteins that are in a complex or in contact with a protein of interest, and allows for further isolation and purification for analyses.
Co-immunoprecipitation
Antibodies can also serve as probes to identify interacting partners. Co-immunoprecipitation use antibodies to capture a target protein and its associated interactors from a sample, revealing not only the interaction between the two proteins, but also the strength of interaction under different circumstances.1
Leveraging advanced techniques, including the mammalian protein expression system, researchers can produce high-quality antibodies and proteins essential for these analyses. Such systems ensure the production of biologically active proteins with proper folding and post-translational modifications, critical for studying intricate protein interactions.
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References:
Erbil-Bilir, S., Kocaturk, N. M., Yayli, M., & Gozuacik, D. (2016). Study of Protein-protein Interactions in Autophagy Research. Journal of Visualized Experiments : JoVE, (127). https://doi.org/10.3791/55881
