Antibody production to human recombinant ERK1: comparison of human ERK1 and sea urchin ERK1

Abstract

Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases (also called extracellularsignal- regulated kinases [ERKs]) are activated in response to a wide array of extracellular stimuli in many different cell types (Gardner et aI., 1993). ERKs are serine/threonine kinases that are important signal transducers during the Go to G1 transition point where the cell in a resting state of the cell cycle enters the first growth stage before DNA synthesis and also during the G2 to M phase where the cell continues to grow to the point where the nucleus and cytoplasm divide (Ruderman, 1993). ERKs are important regulators of such cellular processes as cell growth, cell division, and cell differentiation. My study compares ERKI from a human recombinant GST/ERKI fusion protein and ERKI from sea urchin (Lytechinus variegatus or Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) egg extracts with the use of mouse antibodies produced against the recombinant protein. The major finding in this study was that epitope cross-reactivity occurred in sea urchin extracts in the molecular weight range expected for the recombinant GST/ERKI fusion protein on a Western blot.