The technology behind our CalRexin™ calcitonin receptor antibody
Our Technology
Our technology is based on the only available monoclonal antibody against a definable and extracellular linear target of the human calcitonin receptor (CTR). Accumulation of the CTR on the cell surface is an event associated with cell stress and Programmed Cell Death (PCD) mechanisms such as apoptosis and autophagy – this is one of our key discoveries. The extracellular target epitope of our antibody makes it a unique target for the delivery of therapeutic or diagnostic substances to reach inside diseased cells and tissues.
Our unique antibody enables the development of novel conjugates with applications in research and imaging. The future opportunities for CalRexin™ in diagnostic and therapeutic interventions is an area of active research at Apop.
Patents
PCT/AU2008/001435; WO 2009/039584, Patent No 2203747. Diagnosis and treatment of diseased and damaged tissue.
Int PCT/AU2014/001081 Marker of cell death.
CalRexin™ Imaging Reagents: Commercially available now
Apop is continually expanding its pipeline of innovative imaging reagents. CalRexin®® is now available in a range of antibody: fluorophore conjugates:
For PCD (apoptosis): CalRexin™:488, CalRexin™:568, CalRexin™:647, CalRexin™:680
For Autophagy: CalRexin™:pHrodo™ Red
Image from confocal microscopy using CalRexin™:568
Cancer cells are treated with cytotoxin.
Green cells have tubulin and are intact, living cells that exclude CalRexin™:568
Red cells are dying, tubulin is lost and CalRexin™:568 accumulates.
The figure below shows a model in which calcitonin receptor (CTR) is externalised during pre-apoptotic cell stress
In this model CalRexin®:568 accumulates in the absence of α-tubulin within the lysosomes and with shrinkage of the cytoplasm results in a high fluorescent signal (taken from: Furness et al, 2016).
