Anti-Calpastatin/CAST Antibody Picoband®

Calpastatin is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CAST gene. It is mapped to 5q15. The protein encoded by this gene is an endogenous calpain (calcium-dependent cysteine protease) inhibitor. It consists of an N-terminal domain L and four repetitive calpain-inhibition domains (domains 1-4), and it is involved in the proteolysis of amyloid precursor protein. The calpain/calpastatin system is involved in numerous membrane fusion events, such as neural vesicle exocytosis and platelet and red-cell aggregation. The encoded protein is also thought to affect the expression levels of genes encoding structural or regulatory proteins. Alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been described.

A synthetic peptide corresponding to a sequence in the middle region of human Calpastatin, different from the related mouse sequence by fifteen amino acids, and from the related rat sequence by eleven amino acids.

Specific inhibition of calpain (calcium-dependent cysteine protease) . Plays a key role in postmortem tenderization of meat and have been proposed to be involved in muscle protein degradation in living tissue.

1. Averna M, De Tullio R, Capini P, Salamino F, Pontremoli S, Melloni E (Dec 2003) . Changes in calpastatin localization and expression during calpain activation: a new mechanism for the regulation of intracellular Ca (2+) -dependent proteolysis. Cell Mol Life Sci. 60 (12) : 2669–78. 2. Ma H, Yang HQ, Takano E, Lee WJ, Hatanaka M, Maki M (Sep 1993) . Requirement of different subdomains of calpastatin for calpain inhibition and for binding to calmodulin-like domains. J Biochem. 113 (5) : 591–9. 3. Raynaud P, Jayat-Vignoles C, Laforet MP, Leveziel H, Amarger V (Apr 2005) . Four promoters expression of the calpastatin gene. Arch Biochem Biophys. 437 (1) : 69–77.

Store at -20°C for one year from date of receipt. After reconstitution, at 4°C for one month. It can also be aliquotted and stored frozen at -20°C for six months. Avoid repeated freeze-thaw cycles.