THE SCIENTIST | Scientists Need to Demand Better Antibody Validation
Medical science has a problem, and everyone knows it. Imagine driving a car with a navigation system that is right just half the time, or doing math with a calculator that knows only half the multiplication table. It’s simply not rational, yet scientists are doing something similar when we use antibodies in research, says Peter S. McPherson, James McGill Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery and Anatomy and Cell Biology at The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital) of McGill University.
When correctly applied, antibodies are stunningly accurate. They can detect one protein out of tens of thousands in a sample. The problem is that many, perhaps more than half of commercially available antibodies, do not target the protein their manufacturers claim they do, or they recognize the intended target but also cross-react with non-intended targets.
