As a first-class antibody service provider, Creative Biolabs has consistently focused on the development and manufacture of in vitro diagnostic (IVD) antibodies to aid in the diagnosis of various different diseases. Our services are customized against specific biomarkers of lung cancer, which may provide valuable information for the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of the diseases. Especially, cytoskeleton-associated protein 4 (CKAP4) has been regarded as a potential biomarker in lung cancer diagnosis and we can generate corresponding antibody products using our versatile strategies and mature platforms.
CKAP4 is a 63 kDa nonglycosylated, type II transmembrane protein that was originally found to be localized at endoplasmic reticulums (ER) and binds to microtubules. This protein can be reversibly palmitoylated during the interference of protein transport and mitosis within cells. Full-length human CKAP4 is composed of 602 amino acids with a 474 amino acid C-terminus region located in the lumen of ER, a 106 amino acid N-terminus region located in the cytoplasm, as well as a single 24 amino acid transmembrane domain. Subsequently, CKAP4 is known to be present on the plasma membrane of type II alveolar pneumocytes, bladder epithelial cells, and vascular smooth muscle cells, where it acts as a receptor for several different ligands, including tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), surfactant protein A (SP-A), and anti-proliferating factor (APF).
Fig.1 CKAP4 domains. (Zacharias, D.A., 2012)
Most lung cancers initially are diagnosed at an advanced stage, such that the disease is related to a poor prognosis, being the main cause of cancer-associated death worldwide. The identification of patients at an early stage of cancer is extremely important, and thus, the discovery of biomarkers to diagnose early-stage lung cancer is being anticipated.
Recent research by Yanagita et al. (2018) was performed to develop serodiagnostic markers. One monoclonal antibody targeting CKAP4, named KU-Lu-1, was generated and then studied further to evaluate its utility as a marker for lung cancer. The serum of 271 lung cancer patients and 100 healthy controls were tested by reverse-phase protein array analysis. The results indicated that CKAP4 was detected in lung cancer tissues and cells, and its secretion into the supernatant of culture medium was also confirmed. The sera CKAP4 expression in lung cancer patients was largely higher than healthy controls (P < 0.0001), and could be early identified even in stage I non-small cell lung cancer. In the validation set, CKAP4 level was significantly higher in lung cancer patients than in healthy ones (P < 0.0001) as well. The findings suggested that CKAP4 can be a novel serodiagnostic marker for early diagnosis of lung cancers.
Fig.2 Immunoblot analysis using anti-CKAP4 antibody with whole-cell lysates from A549, RERF-LC-AI, N231, LCN1, and lung tissue samples. (Yanagita, K., 2018)
Tumor markers for lung cancer, for example, carcinoma embryonic antigen (CEA), sialyl Lewis X antigen (sialyl-Lewisx), are not suitable for early tumor diagnosis because of their low sensitivity or specificity. At Creative Biolabs, we devote to the discovery of biomarkers that may serve as reliable objective indicators of lung cancer progression and diagnosis, as well as the development of high-quality antibodies targeting these biomarkers. CKAP4 is such a potential new diagnostic marker that is detectable in patients with stage I lung cancers and may change current practice in diagnosing cancer cases.
As a leading company in the antibody development, Creative Biolabs has achieved hundreds of one-stop, custom-oriented services regarding a variety of IVD antibodies for extensive uses. Furthermore, we also can offer many other IVD antibody development services targeting specific markers and diseases for global customers. If you’re interested in our services, please contact us for more information or directly send us an inquiry.
References
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