Epigenetic Antibodies

Epigenetic regulatory proteins are involved in a wide variety of chronic diseases, such as cancer, and are the target of an explosive new field of drug discovery. The ability to properly study most epigenetic changes, which determine which genes are “turned off and on,” is determined by the effectiveness of one critical tool—antibodies. To date, most antibody targets are directed to histone modifications that have led to an increased understanding of the role of epigenetics in various cellular processes. The limited availability of antibodies targeting the readers, writers, and erasers of the epigenetic code, along with a lack of industry-wide standards for antibody quality, has plagued the study of these proteins, leading to an influx of antibodies that do not perform consistently or with the promised specificity.

Life Technologies has formed a collaborative partnership with leading epigenetic experts through the Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC), a network of more than 200 scientists from the Universities of Chicago, Toronto, and Oxford, as well as partners from the pharmaceutical companies Abbott, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Pfizer, and Takeda. These leading scientists in antibody technology have joined forces to design and generate the first-ever master set of recombinant epigenetic antibodies targeting the readers, writers, and erasers of the epigenetic code. The first of 200 highly specific recombinant monoclonal antibodies are now available (Table 1) to provide you with the consistency that can only be achieved with recombinant technology.

“The [Life Technologies/SGC] partnership is prepared to produce a set of 200 highly specific, highly sensitive antibodies that are validated for specific applications,” says Dr. Aled Edwards, Director and CEO of SGC. “These antibodies now being launched are the first step toward developing the de facto standard set of quality epigenetics antibodies that researchers can use for generations to come.”

Each of the recombinant monoclonal antibodies in this master set are derived by isolating the clones of antibody heavy and light chains that have been carefully tested for their sensitivity and selectivity, and then expressing these clones in mammalian cells. Because recombinant antibodies are produced from renewable and stable clones, they provide peak specificity and performance with every lot. Furthermore, these recombinant antibodies are selected and validated for specific applications, including immunoprecipitation and western blotting, representing a significant improvement over existing antibodies on the market today.

Targets for Life Technologies/SGC epigenetics antibodies released to date*

Targets for ChIP-validated antibodies

*Antibodies not listed in the ChIP-validated set have been validated for target-protein immunoprecipitation (IP) but not yet for ChIP. Updated application information on individual antibodies can be found on our website.