Cell-Based ELISA tests now enable precise measurement of the phosphorylation status or expression profiles of target proteins (biomarkers) in whole cells. In this post, a review of high performing cell-based assays is made.

The Ras-Raf-MEK-ERK Pathway is an important cell signalling route with many implications for cancer biology and therapeutic development. Dis-regulation of some of this pathway’s proteins expression and phosphorylation status are observed in about one-third of all human cancers. Access to specific tools to study this pathway is essential to a better understanding of its role in cancer for novel drug development. If you are working on this topic, you’ll be interested in taking a look at the range of reagents on offer for a wide variety of applications.

The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway is activated by a number of extra and intracellular stimuli including cytokines, growth factors, and hormones as well as stressors such as oxidative and ER stress. This pathways plays a key role in the regulation of many cellular processes including proliferation, differentiation, the stress response, motility, growth, differentiation, survival, and death. Abnormal MAPK signaling may contribute to increased or uncontrolled cell proliferation and/or resistance to apoptosis. To study this complex pathway, several tools are available, from the pathway specific arrays for an initial screen, to phospho-specific ELISA tests for individual target validation. This post aims at helping you to easily identify tools to explore this pathway in your samples (from arrays to phospho-ELISAs). However, I could not start without showing you once more one of these eye-catching illustrations of cell signalling pathways. I’ll let you explore it to dig out the MAPK protein cascade among all of them (a kind of Where’s Wally for the researcher !).

MAP Kinase cell signaling pathway – but which ELISA test or array should you choose to study it?

In this post, I’d like to take a look at the current understanding of tubulin PTMs, that include tyrosination/detyrosination, Δ2-tubulin formation, acetylation, phosphorylation, ubiquitination, glutamylation, and glycylation. This is inspired by contribution provided by Cytoskeleton Inc., who are experts in this domain.