What is an inflammasome? An inflammasome is a formation of danger-sensing proteins when a cell becomes infected or damaged and is typically there to regulate the activation of caspase-1 and activate inflammation when host proteins… Read More
Immune Evasion of Cancer
Mistakes happen. It’s a fact of life, and when mistakes occur during cell replication, the body has mechanisms to catch these errors and destroy the defective cells. However, when this system fails, it can lead… Read More
Immune Evasion of SARS-CoV-2
Viruses use a variety of processes to evade the immune system and buy time to replicate. Some of these processes include inhibition of the humoral response, interfering, inhibiting, and modulating interferons, cytokines, chemokines, and apoptosis,… Read More
SARS-CoV-2 Open Reading Frames (ORFs)
The SARS-CoV-2 genome is ~29 kb divided into 10 open reading frames (ORFs). Each of these ORFs (except seemingly ORF10) is translated in 29 different proteins. ORF1 is formed by two overlapping ORFs, ORF1a and… Read More
What is Cytokine Storm?
Cytokine Storm and COVID-19 Garnering mass attention due to the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the “cytokine storm” has been observed for decades. Cytokine storm refers to the overproduction of cytokines by the… Read More
The Importance of Quality Reagents In Studying Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
The Importance of Quality Immuno-oncology Antibody Reagents In Studying Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors These days, it’s tough to mention cancer without also mentioning the novel class of cancer-fighting immuno-oncology therapeutics called immune checkpoint inhibitors. These transformative… Read More
How to Detect Single Domain Antibodies
Many scientists expressing interest in single domain antibodies have been curious about the best ways to detect single domain antibodies with in vitro assays. When detecting typical IgG antibodies, secondary antibodies with conjugated enzymes or fluorophores are… Read More
Why Are Antibodies Produced in the Body?
Antibodies are produced in the body to serve 3 major purposes in the immune system: neutralization, opsonization, and compliment protein activation. Each of these functions helps to protect the body from potentially harmful pathogens. Neutralization… Read More
Antibody Basics: Selecting Antigens
When selecting an antigen to use for your project, the considerations required can be overwhelming. We at ProSci want your antibody project to run smoothly so your work can be done without interruption. For us to deliver… Read More
Problems with Immunotherapy
Pairs of proteins that act as T-cell co-signaling receptors are called immune checkpoints. These cell surface receptors can send positive or negative signals to T cells, instigating a response from the immune system to either… Read More