Every now and then when I get hungry, I joke that my stomach is about to digest itself. For the longest time, human science was unaware that our cells could literally eat itself (or more precisely, parts of itself) as well! First described in the 1960s by Christian de Duve (who won the Nobel Prize for discovering the lysosome), the term autophagy derives from Greek words combined to mean “self-eating” and describes a process by which the cell degrades large components and organelles in a distinct mechanism. ^1-3 The phenomenon was not studied extensively until the 1990s, when Yoshinori Ohsumi performed a series of groundbreaking experiments to determine the underlying mechanisms of autophagy, an achievement for which he was awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Ohsumi’s work has led to an explosion of research that has precipitated a greater understanding of the role played by cellular digestion, degradation, and recycling pathways in human health and disease.

In March 2022, the United States Senate approved the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make Daylight Savings Time (DST) permanent starting in November of 2023. There was still some healthy debate over whether Americans should accept Standard Time versus DST as their new permanent or keep the current system of “spring forward, fall back.” Regardless of whether we will have DST forever, there is broad consensus that the clock switch every March and November is disruptive to our sleep patterns and our circadian rhythms.

Whether to save energy, increase night-time Trick-or-Treat hours on Halloween, get those few extra minutes of sun to squeeze in the last innings of a Little League or high school baseball game, or just to normalize our sleep patterns, even a seemingly obscure issue like switching between standard time and DST is tied to our health and well-being in our society. And this is why we have to consider how sleep and the circadian rhythm can affect our physiology.

Over these past few months, we here at ABclonal have been working diligently to continue supplying necessary reagents to researchers, clinicians, and companies worldwide to facilitate their efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. In direct support of that goal, we’re proud to introduce our new, comprehensive line of SARS-CoV-2 ELISA kits.

As you may have surmised from the title of this article, Proteinase K (also known as protease K or endopeptidase K) shares many functional similarities to the protagonist of the iconic TV show, Breaking Bad. Much like Walter White, Proteinase K is incredibly versatile in its applications, while remaining relatively unassuming and overlooked at times. Unlike the chemistry teacher gone rogue, however, its properties can be channeled for good.

The Hippo signal is very conservative in evolution. It regulates organ size and tissue stability by regulating cell proliferation, apoptosis, and stem cell renewal. The core process of Hippo signaling is a kinase tandem process, Mst1/2 and Sav1 form a complex, phosphorylate and activate Lats1/2; Lats1/2 kinase then phosphorylates and inhibits transcriptional coactivators Yap and Taz. Yap and Taz are the most important effectors downstream of the Hippo pathway. Upon dephosphorylation, Yap and Taz translocate to the nucleus and interact with TEAD1-4 or other transcription factors (such as CTGF) to induce gene expression, thereby initiating cell proliferation and inhibiting apoptosis.

The glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, or GAPDH for short), is a multifunctional, indispensable enzyme found in all cells. The generally known function of GAPDH is to assist in carbohydrate metabolism as a key player in glycolysis, but there are studies demonstrating its role in the nucleus as well. 

GAPDH is a constitutively expressed housekeeping protein, and GAPDH mRNA levels and protein levels are often used as loading controls in experiments that quantify target-specific expression changes. Recent studies have elucidated the role of GAPDH in apoptosis, gene expression through its possible activities as a transcription factor, and nuclear transport. As both a metabolic protein as well as one that might play a role in cytoskeletal reorganization, GAPDH activity is intricately tied to tumorigenesis. GAPDH may also play a role in neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington's disease and Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, although many researchers do use GAPDH as a control, this protein needs to be appreciated for its myriad other functions as well!

ABclonal Technology's GAPDH recombinant rabbit monoclonal antibody is a human-specific antibody that can be used with a high dilution ratio of 1:2560000. As a highly-stable antibody product, this means that you can perform numerous Western blotting experiments over a long period of time using a small quantity of antibody, as well as in other experiments to study the functions of GAPDH. Take advantage of this robust, cost-effective antibody product in your research today!