- Biotinylated Chemokines
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- Biotin-CXCL12 (SDF-1α)
Biotin-CXCL12 (SDF-1α)
Stromal-Cell Derived Factor-1α (SDF-1α) (CXCL12) attracts lymphocytes and plays important roles in embryogenesis and angiogenesis with implications in tumor metastasis. By binding to CXCR4, one of the co-receptors for HIV viral entry, SDF-1α can suppress HIV. Besides CXCR4, SDF-1 α also binds to the “decoy” receptor CXCR7, and activates the downstream β-arrestin- rather than G protein-mediated signaling pathway.
Biotinylated CXCL12 is made using an enzymatic method, which has several advantages over chemical biotinylation methods. The attachment of biotin at a specific lysine residue is nearly 100% complete, and leads to a modified chemokine with functionalities comparable to those of the unmodified CXCL12 in calcium flux and migration assay. Combining with avidin analogues conjugated to various fluorescent labels, biotinylated CXCL12 is useful in studies on receptor identification, distribution, chemokine binding, and other cellular assays. They serve as great tools in visualization and quantification, and replace the needs for radioactively labeled chemokines.