Creative Biolabs is a leading contract research service provider, specializing in the development, engineering, and characterization of antibody products for research, diagnosis, and potential therapeutics. We now offer a series of biomarker-specific IVD (in vitro diagnostic) antibody & immunoassay development services to clients globally. Especially, we introduce our IVD antibody/immunoassay development services for the proNGF marker.
proNGF, also called precursor of nerve growth factor (NGF), belongs to the family of growth factors called neurotrophins. proNGF is proteolytically cleaved to generate mature NGF and is the predominant form of NGF in the brain. proNGF binds to two NGF receptors: a trophic tyrosine kinase receptor, TrkA, and a neurotrophin receptor (NTR), p75NTR. It binds more strongly to p75NTR and more weakly to TrkA than does mature NGF. Depending on the receptor complement, proNGF can have both neurotrophic and apoptotic activities. In the healthy brain, proNGF can bind to both receptors to mediate different signaling pathways, such as the MAPK and Akt pathways, to elicit cell survival and neurite outgrowth. However, in diseased brains, where the TrkA is lost or p75NTR is increased, proNGF can activate apoptotic pathways to cause neuron death.
For instance, TrkA receptors are lost in Alzheimer's Disease (AD). In patients who died with a clinical diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or mild AD, proNGF was found to selectively increase in postmortem neocortex and hippocampus, compared to older people who died with a clinical diagnosis of no cognitive impairment (NCI). The accumulation of proNGF, along with the loss of TrkA, induce p75NTR-dependent apoptotic pathways and thus initiate a neurodegenerative cascade, promote disease progress, and result in cognitive impairment.
Fig.1 Diagram of the various pathways activated by TrkA and p75NTR. (Fahnestock, 2019)
As proNGF protein is selectively increased in brains, the detection of proNGF protein levels may be an approach to help the diagnosis of AD. E counts et al. (2016) determined the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of proNGF in postmortem brain samples of people who died with MCI or AD. The results showed that proNGF levels were increased by 55% in amnestic MCI and 70% in AD compared to NCI. In a complementary study, they found that proNGF was significantly increased by 30% in lumbar CSF samples derived from patients with a clinical dementia rating (CDR) of 0.5 or 1 compared to those with a CDR = 0. This suggested that proNGF may reflect an early biological marker for the onset of AD to augment the diagnostic accuracy of currently used CSF biomarkers. Besides AD, proNGF was also found to be increased in thyroid cancer and might be considered as a new potential diagnostic biomarker.
Creative Biolabs offers high-end development, engineering, characterization, and conjugation of antibody (pairs) to global clients. Our services can be customized to target a number of validated and potential disease biomarkers. Moreover, we offer contract immunoassay development of various formats such as ELISA, latex, lateral flow, and fluorescent methodologies. We offer technical support including a complete solution for customer-specific design, assay development, laboratory, and clinical sample testing. For more information, please click the links below:
We bring years of knowledge and experience, and project management to ensure the best possible antibodies for diagnostic applications. We keep up with the evolving industry and aim to rise to the challenge to effectively meet any needs. Please feel free to contact us for more information and a formal quote.
References
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