Antibody inhibition of protein activity in starfish oocytes

Abstract

Antibodies are widely utilized in cell and molecule biology for immunoblots, immunostaining, immunoprecipitation, immunoaffinity purification, and immunoassay. Some antibodies can be used for in vivo inhibition experiments. These antibodies bind to their target molecules and neutralize their functions, providing functional information in the study of their biological role. Here, we describe our methods for obtaining inhibitory antibodies against desired proteins. We then describe in the starfish oocyte system how to inhibit a target protein, even in the nucleus, by injection of antibody into the cytoplasm, and how to evaluate antibody inhibition of cell cycle regulators in small numbers of oocytes. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media, New York.