The development of antibodies against highly conserved proteins is a
major challenge to scientists. Due to target homology with native
proteins in the host animal, successfully eliciting a robust immune
response
adequate for quality reagent production is exceedingly difficult.
Ubiquitin consists of 76 amino
acids and has a molecular mass of
about 8500 Da. It is highly conserved among eukaryotic species:
human
and yeast ubiquitin share 96% sequence homology. Ubiquitin is
implicated in many human
disease pathways.
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By utilizing proprietary plasmid design in the Genomic Antibody Technology™ platform, scientists at SDIX produced a specific anti-human ubiquitin antibody in a mouse host. Engineered genetic adjuvants in the plasmid were able to mobilize the mouse’s immune system to react strongly to the internally expressed
recombinant protein. This “breaking of tolerance” allows the production of specific reagents to traditionally elusive proteins.
