This site uses cookies to keep the user logged in if desired and to ensure pages display correctly.
For more information, click here.
Preserve phosphorylation states
Understand the role of post-translational modifications
The importance of post-translational modifications (PTMs), such as phosphorylation, in disease mechanisms or as drug targets and biomarkers is well acknowledged. However, changes in the phosphorylation state of in vivo proteins are particularly sensitive to external disturbances such as tissue sampling. Accurate determination of phosphorylation states is crucial to understand their role in disease, disease prognosis and determination of the specificity or toxicity of a potential therapeutic.
Using the Stabilizor system to heat stabilize tissue samples:
-
Preserves phosphorylated proteins at their in vivo levels
-
Completely inactivates phosphatase and kinase activity
-
Maintains stability of phosphorylation states at room temperature
-
Eliminates need for costly and/or inefficient phosphatase inhibitors
Elimination of phosphatase activity
Heat-stabilized mouse brain cortex samples show a significant lower level of phosphatase activity compared to snap frozen samples with and without inhibitors. Phosphatase activity measured using SensoLyte pNPP phosphatase kit (Anaspec).
Recent publication
Results from a recent publication from Harvard Medical School (Thermal stabilization of tissues and the preservation of protein phosphorylation states for two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Smejkal et al., Electrophoresis 2011, Volume 32, pages 2206–2215) demonstrate a 99.6% elimination of kinase activity in heat-stabilized samples.
