The link between Survivin and Histone H3
Survivin and histones seemingly belong in two different antibody catalogues. Histone proteins operate at the most fundamental level of cell division, forming the octamer around which the chromosomal content of the nucleus (the chromatin) is wrapped. The Survivin antibody, meanwhile, is largely associated with apoptosis (programmed cell death), encoding an IAP (inhibitor of apoptosis) protein.
However, when you compare the two molecules at the molecular level, the differentiation becomes a little fuzzy. Survivin is studied in no fewer than 14 areas of research, including mitotic regulation. Here, we cross into the histone field. Histone H3 regulates mitotic cell division by prophase phosphorylation and anaphase dephosphorylation.
Survivin similarly plays a regulatory role in the cell, inhibiting activation of caspases, proteins essential for programmed cell death. When this negative regulation pathway goes awry, cancers can develop. More recent research with survivin antibodies have shown that expression of the protein is highly regulated in mitosis, with expression limited to G2-M interphase (the initial phase of cell division). It is now known that, as well as being an apoptosis inhibitor, survivin also acts as a checkpoint regulator in cytokinesis, the final stage of cell division.
In 2005, Caldas, Jiang et al showed that survivin follows a distinct pattern during cell division, localising to the spindle at prophase following interaction with tubulin. Now, a paper published by Kelly, et al. in August 2010 has shown that survivin is essential to spindle formation and thus cell division, binding to phosphorylated histone H3 and triggering assembly of the microtubule.
We at Novus Biologicals have over 8000 products in our antibody catalog dedicated to cell division and replication research. Both Survivin and Histone antibodies are widely used in cancer research studies.
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