Latest News
Published on January 8th 2025
Our first new peptide this year is Leptin-1, a peptide derived from the N-terminal of human leptin, which can improve glucose metabolism by increasing glucose uptake and GLUT4 expression,and its translocation to the plasma membrane. Leptin-1 inducedglucose-uptake is mediated through activation of AMPK, PI3K, and AKT, and exerts its metabolic effect through the activation of JAK2, an important downstream target of the leptin receptor. Leptin-1 increases mitochondrial biogenesis and ATP productio...
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Published on December 9th 2024
During the festive period we will be closed from Friday the 20thof December to Thursday the 2nd of January. There will be someone in the lab on some days to respond to emails on an intermittent basis, but to avoid goods going missing, or sitting in postboxes, or worse on radiators, our last day for shipping in 2024will be Monday December the 16th.
We would like to wish all of our customers a very happy christmas and a prosperous new year and we look forward to seeing you all in 2025....
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Published on November 4th 2024
Decades of research supports the link between Alzheimer disease (AD) and somatostatin (somatotropin-releasing inhibitory factor (SRIF)). SRIF and SRIF expressing neurons play an essential role in brain function, modulating hippocampal activity and memory formation, and loss of theseneurons in the brain isat the centreof a series of pathological events driven by amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) which leadtocognitive decline and dementia. The connection between SRIF and AD extends toneuropsychiatric sympt...
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Published on October 4th 2024
The glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor, known as GLP-1R, is a vital component of the G protein-coupled receptor family and is found primarily on the surfaces of various cell types within the human body. This receptor specifically interacts with GLP-1, a key hormone that plays an integral role in regulating blood glucose levels, lipid metabolism, and other crucial biological functions. In recent years, GLP-1 medications have become a focal point in the medical community due to their signifi...
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Published on September 4th 2024
The orexin system consists of the peptide transmitters orexin-A and -B and the G protein-coupled orexin receptors OX1 and OX2. Orexin receptors are capable of coupling to all four families of heterotrimeric G proteins, and there are also other complex features of the orexin receptor signaling. The system was discovered 25 years ago and was immediately identified as a central regulator of sleep and wakefulness; this is exemplified by the symptomatology of the disorder narcolepsy with cataplexy, i...
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Published on July 1st 2024
In the search for new drugs, a series of advances in laboratory technologies and computing power has conspired to make the next generation of therapeutic molecules feel tantalizingly within reach. Known as macrocyclic peptides, these drugs are purported to create the Goldilocks effect—they have the size and shape to provide the advantages of both small- and large-molecule drugs without their shortcomings.Small-molecule drugs have been instrumental in alleviating a gamut of ailments, from heart...
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Published on June 5th 2024
In the fight against antimicrobial resistance, host defence peptides are promising molecules for the design of new antimicrobial agents. In terms of their future clinical use, host defence peptides offer several advantages, based on which their application as feed additives has aroused great interest in the poultry sector. A new article by Marton et al in PLoS onehas demonstratedthe immunomodulatory activity of Pap12-6, supplied by Isca, aloneand in inflammatory environments evoked by lipoteicho...
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Published on May 2nd 2024
There are over 410,000 species of land plants on earth, of which 391,000are vascular plants and approximately 20,000 are bryophytes, a group of non-vascular land plants, such asliverworts, hornworts and mosses. Characteristics of plant cells that distinguish them from animals and fungi include a primary cell wall and membrane bound organelles known as plastids with photosynthetic and biosynthetic functions – including chloroplasts, in which photosynthesis occurs. Unlike animals, many plant ce...
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Published on March 4th 2024
Huntington’s disease is a neurodegenerative
genetic disorder characterized by a mutation in the huntingtin
(HTT) gene, resulting in the production of a mutant huntingtin
protein (mHTT). The accumulation of mHTT leads to the
development of toxic aggregates in neurons, causing cell
dysfunction and eventual cell death. Peptide therapeutics can target
various aspects of HD pathology, including mHTT reduction and
aggregation inhibition, extended CAG mRNA degradation, and
modulation of dysre...
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Published on February 7th 2024
IDR-1002, a synthetic host defence peptide, is a potential candidate for the treatment of bacterial infections and the consequent inflammatory response due to its potent immunomodulatory activity, of great interestto the emerging issue of antimicrobial resistance in the farming sector.Ina new study by Sebők et al, using IDR-1002 supplied by Isca, the effects of IDR-1002 were investigated ina chicken hepatocyte‒non-parenchymal cell co-culture. IDR-1002 had complex effects on the regulation of ...
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Published on January 4th 2024
Our first new peptide for 2024, aCx26-pep, is a peptide consisting ofthe gap junction protein connexin 26 (Cx26) cytosolic tail sequence, coupled to the cell permeant peptide antennapedia,first disclosed byMulkearns-Hubert and colleagues in Molecular Cancer TherapeuticsTriple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a frequently lethal breast cancer subtype with limited treatment options. The authorsidentified a protein complex unique to TNBC composed of the gap junction protein connexin 26 (Cx26), the ...
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Published on December 7th 2023
During the festive period we will be closed from Friday the 22nd of December to Tuesday the 2nd of January. There will be someone in the lab on some days to respond to emails on an intermittent basis, but to avoid goods going missing, or sitting in postboxes, or worse on radiators, our last day for shipping in 2023 will be Monday December the 18th.
We would like to wish all of our customers a very happy christmas and a prosperous new year and we look forward to seeing you all in 2024....
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Published on November 6th 2023
A new review by Bailey and colleagues from The University of Ulster highlights progress towards a new era in peptide-based therapy for type 2 diabetes and obesity. Long-acting analogues of the naturally occurring incretin, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and those modified to interact also with receptors for glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) have shown high glucose-lowering and weight-lowering efficacy when administered by subcutaneous injection. Notable is the GLP-1R agonist s...
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Published on October 3rd 2023
IDR-1002, a synthetic host defense peptide, is a candidate for the treatment of bacterial infections and the subsequent inflammatory response, currently relevantto the emerging issue of antimicrobial resistance in the farming sector. In a new study, the effects of IDR-1002were investigated on a chicken hepatocyte‒non-parenchymal cell co-culture. IDR-1002 had complex effects on the regulation of the hepatic innate immunity,increasingthe levels of both RANTES and M-CSF and reducingconcentrations...
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Published on September 4th 2023
Adhesion class receptors (AGPCRs)are the second largest class of the GPCR superfamily, with 33 human AGPCRs being known, existing as 8 groups and 2 independent receptors. Adhesion class receptors are among the largest proteins in nature and consist of a long extracellular domain, a seven-transmembrane domain, and an intracellular C-terminal tail. A feature of these receptors is an autoproteolytic cleavage event that occurs at the GPCR proteolytic site, located within the GPCR autoproteolysis in...
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Published on August 2nd 2023
Cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) are a class of peptides that possess the ability to cross cell membranes and deliver various types of cargoes, including drugs, nucleic acids, and proteins, into cells. CPPs are largely investigated in drug delivery applications in the context of many diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, and genetic disorders. While sharing this functionality and some common structural features, such as a high content of positively charged amino acids.CPPs represent an extremely d...
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Published on July 10th 2023
Desacyl-ghrelin, also known as[des-octanoyl]-ghrelin (human) is a form of ghrelin which lacks acyl-modification atthe third serine residue of ghrelin. Originallydesacyl-ghrelin was considered to be just an inactive form of ghrelin but a recent review in Peptides shows desacyl-ghrelin to have various biological activities in its own right, including control of food intake, growth hormone, glucose metabolism, and gastric movement, and it is also involved in cell survival. Readthe full article and ...
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Published on June 1st 2023
We will be attending Pivotal Links on the 7th-8th of June 2023in Oxford, UK. Pivotal Links is now established as the biggest global networking event for both research & IVD reagent companies and is now a permanent event in the life science annual calendar, having hosted events in both Oxford, UK and Wuhan, China. Pivotal links is a multi-national event that allows like minded companies to make connections and facilitate business growth. If you would like to find out more about how you can in...
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Published on May 2nd 2023
Weget asked about peptide solubilitya lot, so we have updated our recommendations based on our most frequent questions. Solubility is obviously very important in biochemical experiments, butpeptide (and proteinsolubility) in aqueous solution varies widely, ranging from almost complete insolubility to solubility of hundreds of milligrams per millilitre. Where possible we provide solubility instructions for dissolving individual peptides, which can befound on the data sheet for each individual pro...
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Published on April 3rd 2023
Modern proteins rely on an almost universal repertoire of 20 canonical amino acids which can be divided into 'early' and 'late' groups, based on when they were added to the amino acid alphabet. However, many nonproteinogenic amino acidswere also prebiotically available but not incorporated. In a study investigating what drovethis selectivity, researchers made peptides out of sets of amino acids and compared their solubility and how readily they arranged themselves intoprotein-like structures. St...
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Published on March 6th 2023
Formyl peptide receptors (FPRs) are seven-membrane G-protein coupled receptors whichrecognize chemotactic signals to protect hosts from pathogenic infections and mediate inflammatory responses in the body. There are three isoforms of FPRs in humans—FPR1, FPR2, and FPR3—and they bind to N-formyl peptides, except FPR3, and to various endogenous agonists. Among FPR family members, FPR2 has a lower affinity for N-formyl peptides than FPR1 and binds with a wide range of endogenous or exogenous ag...
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Published on February 1st 2023
Now it is easier than ever to do business with Isca Biochemicals. We are pleased to announce we have been designated a registered supplier at The Scientist.com. The Scientist is a digital research platform which combines sophisticated AI technology with white-glove Research Concierge support to enable youto run more innovative experiments in less time and at lower cost. Clients include many of the world’s leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, who receive on-demand access to resea...
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Published on January 5th 2023
Our first new peptide for 2023, KEMPFPKYPVEP, wasidentified from a screen ofdigested casein protein peptides for the ability to improve spatial memory in amnesia mouse models. KEMPFPKYPVEP was found to both preventscopolamine induced deficit in short term spatial memory,and also to enhancelong term object recognition memory in intact mice - with increasedlevels of dopamineand norepinephrine, but not serotoninbeing found in the frontal cortex. The ratio of dopamine metabolites3,4-dihydroxyphenyla...
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Published on December 15th 2022
During the festive period we will be closed from Friday the 23rd of December to Tuesday the 3rdof January. There willbe someone in the lab on some days to respond to emails on an intermittentbasis, but to avoid goods going missing, or sitting in postboxes, or worse on radiators, our last day for shipping in 2022 will be Monday Decemberthe 19th.We would like to wish all of our customers a very happy christmas and a prosperous new year and we look forward to seeing you all in 2023.
...
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Published on November 3rd 2022
Antimicrobial peptides are a diverse group of molecules possessinga broad spectrum of antibioticproperties that are being considered as novel therapeutic agents. Manyof these agentsare membrane active, killing bacteria by membrane disruption, but an increasing number of antimicrobial peptides have been shown to enter cells and target intracellular processes fundamental tobacterial existence. Di Somma et alinvestigated the mechanism of action of magainin-2, an antimicrobial peptide isolated from ...
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Published on October 7th 2022
October marks the 10th anniversary of Isca Biochemicals. Incorporated in October 2012in Exeter, UK,Iscawas founded by peptide scientists who had until that time been the peptide manufacturing armof Biomol, who already had long experience of offering high quality custom and catalogue peptidesto the worldwide life science community underthe Biomol brand. The name Isca derives from the fact that from AD55 Exeter was known as Isca Dumnoniorum, a thriving town, administrative centre for the South Wes...
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Published on September 6th 2022
Gap junction channels physically connect adjacent cells, allowing the passage of ions and other small molecules between them and synchronizing cells both electrically and metabolically. Gap junction channels are composed of two hemichannels (connexons), which are formed from six connexin molecules, and allow the passive diffusion of a variety of molecules including nutrients, metabolites, ions and all known second messengers, facilitatingelectrical and biochemical coupling and enabling synchron...
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Published on August 4th 2022
Transient receptor potential (TRP) channels are a superfamily of cation channels that is currently subdivided into nine families split into two groups, each containing a number of subfamilies. TRP channels are expressed ubiquitously and are activated by a wide range of stimuli.TRP subunits assemble into homo- or heterotetramers and are often functionally associated with G-protein-coupled receptors, receptor tyrosine kinases and phospholipase C. As TRPs are intimately linked with intracellular Ca...
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Published on July 4th 2022
Isca Biochemicals products are now available through Labospace, our new distributor inItaly. Labospace have been distributing products forLife Sciencefor more than 30 years, and now have a 500 sqm facility in the heart of Milan, fully equipped with the most advanced technologies available including luminex/multiplex platforms, next generation sequencing (NGS), fluorescence-activated single cell sorting (FACS) and immunohistochemistry capabilities. Labospace additionally havehubs in San Diego and...
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Published on June 3rd 2022
We will be attending Pivotal Links on the 8th-9th of June in 2022
Oxford, UK. Pivotal Links is now established as the biggest global networking event for both research & IVD reagent companies and is now a permanent event in the life science annual calendar, having hosted events in both Oxford, UK and Wuhan, China. Pivotal links is a multi-national event that allows like minded companies to make connections and facilitate business growth. If you would like to find out more about how you can ...
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Published on May 19th 2022
Isca Biochemicals products can now be obtained through CliniSciences - our new distributor for France. Headquartered in Nanterre, CliniSciences commercialises reagents and instruments for immunology, cell biology and molecular biology, offering antibodies, recombinant proteins, ELISA kits, RNAi, cDNA clones, probes and PCR/qPCR reagents to diagnostic and research labs throughout France and Europe. CliniSciences additionally offer a full range of CRO services in the field of biomedical research...
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Published on May 3rd 2022
Isca Biochemicals products can now be obtained through BIOHUB INTERNATIONAL - our new distributor for China. Headquartered in Pudong, Shanghai, PR China, BIOHUB have become the first choice for biological reagents in China with more than 10 years experience offering antibodies, kits, proteins and media, as well as providing a rich marketing experience and supporting over 2000 sub distributors and 5000 customers in China. With BIOHUBs uniqueknowledgeof their Chinese customers and markets and fir...
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Published on April 5th 2022
Programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) plays a vital role in inhibiting immune responses and promoting self-tolerance through modulating the activity of T-cells, activating apoptosis of antigen-specific T cells and inhibiting apoptosis of regulatory T cells. Programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) is a trans-membrane protein co-inhibitory factor of the immune response, whichcan combine with PD-1 to reduce the proliferation of PD-1 positive cells, inhibit their cytokine secretion and induce apopto...
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Published on March 8th 2022
Peptide drug development has made great progress in the last decade thanks to new production, modification, and analytic technologies. Peptides have been produced and modified using both chemical and biological methods, together with novel design and delivery strategies, which have helped to overcome the inherent drawbacks of peptides and have allowed the continued advancement of this field. A wide variety of natural and modified peptides have been obtained and studied, covering multiple therape...
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Published on February 14th 2022
Isca Biochemicals products can now be obtained through BIOZOL - our new distributorfor Germany,Switzerland and Austria. Headquartered in Eching, Germany, BIOZOL provide more than 25 million products from more than 220 partner companies around the world, a service which is completed by the BIOZOLcustomer support team of scientists with many years of research experience. More than 14,000 customers from universities, research institutes andpharmaceuticaland biotech companiesbenefit from30 years o...
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Published on January 6th 2022
Happy new year to all our customers - and here is our first new peptide of2022,NT1–20, a tatylated membrane penetrating peptidederived from the N-terminus of the acid sensing ion channel 1a (ASIC1a), which can block the binding ofASIC1a to receptor interacting protein kinase 1 (RIPK1) atits C terminus. ASIC1 is alow pH activated Na+ permeable ion channel whichmediates necroptosis via recruiting RIPK1, independent of its ion-conducting function, and though this mechanism NT1-20 protects neurons...
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Published on December 20th 2021
During the festive period we will be closed from thursday the 23rd of December to tuesday the 4th of January, and while there may be someone in the lab and we will be able to receive orders, we will not be able to ship anything until the end of the holidays. We would like to wish all of our customers a very happy christmas and a prosperous new year and we look forward to seeing you all in 2022....
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Published on December 7th 2021
Isca Biochemicalsproducts can now be obtainedthrough 2B Scientific in the UK and Ireland. Headquarteredin Oxfordshire, UK, 2BScientific is reinventing the supply of immunological reagents and kits to the European research market with their easy purchase process, presence on customer procurement portals and 100% quality guarantee. 2BScientific's mission is to become the leading supplier of innovative life science reagents and services to the European research market in a way that supports life sc...
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Published on November 4th 2021
Protein-sorting transpeptidases are enzymes that cleave target proteins produced by the same cell, as part of a specialized pathway of protein targeting. Protein-sorting transpeptidases transferthe N-terminal portion of the cleaved polypeptide into another molecule. The term sortase is correctly reserved for the cysteine protease enzymes sortase A, sortase B, and members of additional classes, all of which share homology.
We now offer the sortase recognition sequence, LPETGG, coupled to the flu...
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Published on October 18th 2021
Orexins (hypocretins) are a family of neuropeptides consisting of two members, orexin A and orexin B, which are produced from a common precursor prepro-orexin. The orexins activate two G-protein-coupled receptors (OX1 and OX2), bothfound predominantly in the hypothalamus. Orexin A is the selective endogenous agonist for OX1 and blocking this receptor modulates food and water intake. Orexins are also linked to the regulation of sleep-activity cycles. Isca now have the key orexin peptidesin one...
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Published on September 9th 2021
New products are an essential part of our rangeand we make novel introductions continuously,resulting in many new peptides and biochemicalsbeing added every year. Our aim is to find the latest research tools and bring them to researchers as rapidlyas we can, and to help identify them our new products can now be seen in one place on a dedicated new products pageIf you can'twhat you are looking for, we welcome suggestions for new productsand our customsynthesis teamare always on hand to makelarge...
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Published on August 10th 2021
Protease-activated receptors (PARs, also known as thrombin receptors) are G-protein-coupled receptors which are activated by cleavage of their N-terminal domains by serine proteases. Cleavage produces a tethered peptide ligand, which influences transmembrane signaling. Four subtypes of receptors been cloned (PAR1-4). PAR1 is the most well characterized member of this receptor family and is activated by the endogenous serine protease thrombin. PAR1 activation has been implicated in cardiovascu...
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Published on July 7th 2021
We are pleased to announce that we have three new distributors for our products, covering the territories ofthe USA and Canada, India and Japan. Customers in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world can continue to use the Isca office in the UK and bear in mind that we have now made European shipping free indefinitely. The full list of distributor contact details is as follows:UK, Europe and the rest of the worldIsca Biochemicals
26 Hanover Road
Exeter
EX1 2TL
Phone: +44 (0)1392 422205
Fax:...
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Published on July 2nd 2021
Free catalogue peptide shipping from our Exeter office has now been extended indefinitely throughout the UK and Europe. For any other territory we will endeavour to keep delivery charges as low as possible. Please contact us for more information about shipping charges to countries not specified....
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Published on June 11th 2021
Isca are pleased to announce three novel lipopeptoids with potent antifungal activity, licensed from Middle Tennessee State University. Theseare AEC5, which rapidly reduces fungal burden in infected macrophages against C. neoformanswith complete elimination of viable fungi within 3 hours, and the optimised derivatives β-5and γ-2which have improved potency anddecreased toxicity. In mouse models AEC5 has an in vivo half-life of >20 hours and no observable toxicity following 28 days of daily i...
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Published on June 4th 2021
Neuropeptide Y (NPY) receptors are a family of Gi/o-protein-coupled receptors that are currently divided into four subtypes, Y1, Y2, Y4 and Y5. All four NPY receptor subtypes are found at high concentrations in the brain and colon and are also found in a wide variety of peripheral tissues at lower levels. Neuropeptide Yreceptors mediate a diverse range of biological actions including stimulation of food intake, anxiolysis, modulation of circadian rhythm, pain transmission and control of pituita...
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Published on May 4th 2021
PACAP (Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide) receptors are Gs-protein-coupled receptors referred to as PAC1, with an endogenous ligand, PACAP, that also activates the VIP receptors, VPAC1 and VPAC2. PAC1 receptors are predominantly expressed in the central nervous system, including theolfactory bulb, thalamus, hypothalamus, dentate gyrus and granule cells of the cerebellum as well as in the adrenal medulla and pancreas. PAC1 receptors are involved in daytime regulation of the biolo...
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Published on April 7th 2021
We needed a place to find our favourite peptide resources links so we have collected up the following pages in one place as external peptide resourcesand we hope that people will find it as useful as we do. Please let us have any suggestions for any other peptide resourcesthat should be here.ProtParamcan determine physical and chemical parameters for a given protein in Swiss-Prot or TrEMBL or for a user entered sequence. Parameters include molecular weight, theoretical pI, amino acid composition...
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Published on March 5th 2021
Tat-βsyn-degronis a blood brain barrier and plasma membrane permeable α-synuclein knockdown peptide which can reducethe level of α-synuclein byproteasomal degradation. Tat-βsyn-degron decreasesα-synuclein aggregates and microglial activation in an α-synuclein preformed fibril model of spreading synucleinopathy in transgenic mice overexpressing human A53T α-synuclein, and reducesα-synuclein levels and significantly decreasesthe neuronal damage and motor impairment in a mouse toxicity mode...
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Published on March 4th 2021
The newIsca Biochemicals website went live today. It is designed to be as informative and user friendly as possible, withproducts are now grouped for browsing by pharmacology, product type or research application for easy identification. The new search facility allows searches by product name, or partial name, sequence, or partial sequence, andCAS number. We have added a section of external peptide links and ordering online has been introduced and the process greatly simplified. We hope our new ...
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Published on March 1st 2021
Free catalogue peptide shipping is extended into Marchfor all UK and European customers. Please quote Mar2021 on your order...
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Published on December 3rd 2020
Antimicrobial peptides, or host defence peptides, are active against bacteria, viruses, microscopic fungi and protozoa. Two new publications, from the University of Leipzig and the University of Helsinki have recently made use of LL 37, the host defence peptide derived from the human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide hCAP18, and Parasin I, the amphipathic antimicrobial peptide derived from histone H2A of the catfish. The Leipzig group have show the activity of both peptides against periodonta...
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Published on September 22nd 2020
Protein N-terminal methyltransferases (NTMTs) methylate the α-N-terminal amines of proteins starting with the canonical X-P-K/R motif. Genetic studies imply that NTMT1 regulates cell mitosis and DNA damage repair. Isca Biochemicals are pleased to announce the availability of first potent peptidomimetic inhibitors for NTMT1/2, BM30, a competitive inhibitor to the peptide substrate but noncompetitive to the cofactor S-adenosylmethionine, and the analogue DC432 which is BM30 made cell permeable by...
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Published on September 10th 2020
Isca Biochemicals is pleased to announce that a new range of pain regulatory peptides is now available. Our new range contains a mixture of research standards and exclusive peptides that act on established pain targets such as neurokinin 1 (NK1), bradykinin (B1 and B2),the nociceptin receptor (NOP, ORL-1),inward rectifier K+ channels,sensory neuron specific receptors (SNSRs), connexin43 hemichannels,transient receptor potential ion channels TRPA1 and TRPV1, the interaction of the axonal collapsi...
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Published on August 14th 2020
Ghrelin (rat)(GH-180) and ghrelin (human)(GH-190), the endogenous agonists for the rat and human ghrelin receptors are now available from Isca Biochemicals. Ghrelin is produced by the stomach, and is linked to inducing appetite and feeding behaviour, and is a key component of the appetite control sytem that originates from the hypothalamus. In addition to these new ghrelins, Isca Biochemicals offers a range of appetite regulatory peptides acting on the key components of the appetite control syst...
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