Pan Specific Nuclear Pore Complex Mouse Monoclonal Antibody
Cat# MCA-39C7

      Nuclear pores form a barrier between the nucleus and cytoplasm in eukaryotiuc cells allowing regulated inflow and egress of proteins and RNA. They are composed of a family of nuclear pore proteins called nucleoporins with about 30 members in humans (1,2). This monoclonal antibody was raised by injecting mice with crude yeast nuclear preparations and screening the resulting hybridomas by immunofluorescence on yeast cells. The MCA-39C7 clone produced antibody which was one of several which strongly and specifically labelled nuclear pore complexes. When this antibody was tested on cells from other species, including rat, mouse and human cells, it has invariably strongly stained nuclear pore complexes, so it appears to bind to a highly conserved epitope and there to be an excellent and useful panspecific marker for these important structures.
      Previous studies have not revealed convincing western blot data for this antibody, so the original immunogen was not known. We recently tested MCA-39C7 on western blots of mammalian cells binding to a ~62kDa protein and some higher molecular weight bands found in nuclear preparations of HeLa and other mammalian cells. We are currently unsure of the exact identity of these proteins, and work is in progress to to identify them. We note that the Mab 414 antibody described by Davis and Blobel has very similar properties (3). The antibody works well for western blotting and for IF, ICC and IHC on mammalian tissues (for IHC see data under “Additional Info” tab). For immunofluorescence on yeast cells, try MCA-39C7 diluted 1:100 to 1:500. For immunofluorescence on mammalian cells try at 1:50 to 1:100. Mouse select image at left for larger view.