Invitrogen™ IGF-1 Rat ELISA Kit

Description

The Rat Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1 (Rt IGF-1) ELISA quantitates Rt IGF-1 in rat serum, plasma, or cell culture medium. The assay will exclusively recognize both natural and recombinant Rt IGF-1. Principle of the method The Rat IGF-1 solid-phase sandwich ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) is designed to measure the amount of the target bound between a matched antibody pair. A target-specific antibody has been pre-coated in the wells of the supplied microplate. Samples, standards, or controls are then added into these wells and bind to the immobilized (capture) antibody. The sandwich is formed by the addition of the second (detector) antibody, a substrate solution is added that reacts with the enzyme-antibody-target complex to produce measurable signal. The intensity of this signal is directly proportional to the concentration of target present in the original specimen. Rigorous validation Each manufactured lot of this ELISA kit is quality tested for criteria such as sensitivity, specificity, precision, and lot-to-lot consistency. See manual for more information on validation.

IGF1 (Insulin-like growth factor-1) is structurally and functionally related to insulin but has a much higher growth-promoting activity. A variety of cellular responses are induced by IGF1, including cell proliferation, differentiation, migration, and survival. Further, IGF1 is a polypeptide growth factor that stimulates the proliferation of a wide range of cell types in muscle, bone, and cartilage tissue. IGF1 stimulates glucose transport in rat bone-derived osteoblastic (PyMS) cells and is effective at much lower concentrations than insulin, not only regarding glycogen and DNA synthesis but also with regards to enhancing glucose uptake. In circulation, IGFs are predominantly bound to binding proteins (IGFBPs) which prolong the half-life of the IGFs and play a role in delivering them to target tissues. IGF-I is known as one of the most potent activators of the AKT signaling pathway which is known to be a stimulator of proliferation and an inhibitor of programmed cell death. Moreover, mature human IGF-I is 100% homologous with bovine and porcine proteins. Low levels of IGF1 have been linked to Alzheimer's disease. IGF1 is processed from a precursor, bound by a specific receptor, and secreted. Defects in the IGF1 gene are a cause of insulin-like growth factor 1 deficiency and several transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found.