Signaling Pathways

Cell signaling refers to the various sequences of molecular events that mark a cell’s response to its environment, whether that entails interaction with another cell or other external cues. In the most fundamental sense, this allows an extracellular stimulus to exert an effect across the cell membrane through its transduction into a biochemical currency that in most cases will affect gene expression and the cell’s physiological functioning or identity. A common flow for a signaling pathway involves the binding of a ligand to a receptor, protein modification by enzymes like kinases, assembly of signaling complexes and activation of secondary messengers, and ultimately alterations in the actions of transcription factors or other effectors of the transcriptome or proteome. In summary, cell signaling defines the very notion of a cell being alive.

GeneTex offers an extensive catalog of antibody reagents to study key receptors and their associated signaling pathways.

Akt, also known as protein kinase B (PKB) is a serine/threonine kinase that plays an important role in oncogenesis and the cellular processes of metabolism, apoptosis and autophagy. AKT is activated through phosphorylation (at either T308 or S473) by an activating kinase after being recruited to the plasma membrane by PIP3. The availability of PIP3 at the plasma membrane is tightly regulated by the opposing processes of PI 3-Kinase (PI3K), which phosphorylates PIP2 to PIP3, and PTEN, which dephosphorylates PIP3 and abrogates AKT recruitment. Constitutive activation of PI3K or loss of PTEN function are both associated with oncogenic progression.

The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) has been identified as the critical downstream mediator of AKT’s oncogenic properties. Together with the proteins GbL, Raptor and PRAS40, mTOR forms the mTORC1 complex. This complex induces cell growth by stimulating protein synthesis, driving cell cycle progression and inhibiting autophagy. mTOR can also associate with different proteins to form a functionally distinct complex, the rapamycin-insensitive mTORC2. It has recently been discovered that mTORC2 directly phosphorylates and activates AKT, indicating that mTOR has a complicated role both upstream and downstream of AKT. GeneTex is proud to offer a complete line of antibodies for studying the various components of the PI3K-Akt-mTOR signaling pathway.

Highlighted Products

Citation-Support KOKD-Validation IP-MS Analysis Orthogonal Validation Protein Overexpression

mTOR antibody [C3], C-term (GTX101557)

AKT antibody [N3C2], Internal (GTX121937)

AKT (phospho Ser473) antibody (GTX128414)

PTEN antibody (GTX101025)

Deptor antibody [N1C3] (GTX116540)

mLST8 / GBL antibody (GTX132580)

It is vital for cells to effectively repair DNA damage and to coordinate DNA repair with cell cycle progression. Detection of DNA damage and transduction of this signal to downstream effectors is required for the maintenance of genomic integrity and suppression of cancer in humans. ATM (Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated) is a kinase that is essential in coordinating the cellular response to DNA damage. ATM is recruited to DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) by the Mre11-Nbs1-Rad50 complex, while 53BP1 and MDC1 also facilitate ATM activation at DNA damage sites. ATM and ATR (ATM and Rad 3-related) phosphorylate and activate several downstream effectors for apoptosis, cell cycle arrest and DNA repair, including CHK1, CHK2, BRCA1/BRCA2, CtIP, p53, Mdm2, RPA, c-Abl and Rad51.

Highlighted Products

Citation-Support KOKD-Validation Comparable Abs Orthogonal Validation

ATM antibody [2C1] (GTX70103)

Histone H2A.X antibody (GTX108272)

KAP1 antibody [N3C2], Internal (GTX102226)

Rad50 antibody [13B3] (GTX70228)

Mre11 antibody [12D7] (GTX70212)

NBS1 antibody [1D7] (GTX70224)

Wnt proteins are secreted morphogens that are required for various developmental processes including cell fate determination, cell proliferation and cell death. After binding to the Frizzled receptor, three pathways are triggered: the canonical pathway, the planar cell polarity pathway and the Wnt/Ca2+ pathway. In the canonical pathway, the major effector β-catenin enters the nucleus and promotes Wnt-regulated gene expression. The planar cell polarity pathway promotes cytoskeleton remodeling and cell movement via activation of RhoA and Rac. The Wnt-Ca2+ pathway mediates multiple functions via an increase in transient Ca2+ levels and the subsequent activation of PKC, CAMKII and calcineurin. Wnt pathways not only facilitate various aspects of embryogenesis, including apical/basal polarity and neural tube patterning, but also induce tumorigenesis. Wnt signaling has also recently been reported to regulate stem cell differentiation.

Highlighted Products

Citation-Support KOKD-Validation Orthogonal Validation Protein Overexpression

beta Catenin antibody [N1N2-2], N-term (GTX101435)

CBP antibody [C3], C-term (GTX101249)

Wnt4 antibody (GTX101085)

APC antibody [C3], C-term (GTX116009)

Frizzled 9 antibody [N1N2], N-term (GTX100169)

Dishevelled 3 antibody [N1N2], N-term (GTX102509)

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