Antibody mix-up due to similar protein names may invalidate findings in over 300 cancer and aging studies
By
Mitch Leslie Mitch Leslie writes about cell biology and immunology.
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Summary
A researcher has uncovered a widespread error in biomedical literature where hundreds of scientists studying cancer and aging mistakenly used antibodies targeting the wrong protein. Instead of antibodies for p16INK4a (a tumor-suppressing protein), researchers used antibodies for p16-ARC (a cytoskeleton protein). This mix-up, caused by confusingly similar protein names, appears in over 300 published papers, potentially undermining years of research on cancer and aging.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledHundreds of scientists who study cancer and aging have made an easily avoidable but significant mistake, deploying the wrong antibody to test for a key protein
Instead of antibodies that recognize p16INK4a, a tumor suppressing protein that may also promote aging, these researchers used antibodies that tag the similarly named protein p16-ARC, which helps shape the cell's molecular skeleton
The gaffe appears in more than 300 papers
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