BD Transduction Laboratories™ Organelle Detector Sampler Kit

All cells, both prokaryotic and eukaryotic, contain phospholipid bilayer membranes.  However, eukaryotic cells also contain an extensive and intricate internal array of membranes.  These membranes form a subcellular set of structures called the organelles, which enclose specific regions and separate them from the remainder of the cytoplasm.  The most prominent organelle is the nucleus, which partitions the genetic.  Located in structural continuity with the nuclear outer membrane is the rough endoplasmic reticulum (ER), the site of protein synthesis.  Smooth ER is found throughout the cytoplasm and is the site of fatty acid and phospholipid metabolism.  Newly synthesized protein is transported, via vesicles, from the rough ER to the Golgi apparatus.  The Golgi is a system of stacked, flattened sacks that function in modifying, sorting, and packaging proteins and other macromolecules for delivery within the cell or for secretion from the cell.  Other prominent organelles are the mitochondria, which are thought to have evolved from bacteria that were engulfed by cells with which they initially lived in symbiosis.  Mitochondria are the site of oxidative phosphorylation reactions that result in the production of cellular ATP.  The endocytic pathway involves other organelles, such as the endosomes and lysosomes.  Newly ingested material is contained within the endosome which, in turn, passes the material to lysosomes for degradation by the digestive enzymes that are active in the acidic lysosomal lumen.  Each organelle and its associated proteins perform distinct functions that are essential for cellular growth and metabolism.  The following antibodies in this sampler kit may be useful for examining the following organelles:

Annexin II= plasmalema                                BiP/GRP78= endoplasmic reticulum        β-Catenin= zonula adherens        Caveolin-1= caveolae

Connexin-43= gap junctions                                EEA1= endosomes                                        GM130= Golgi                        Lamp-1= lysosomes

MAP2B= microtubules                                        Bcl-2= mitochondria                                Nucleoporin p62= nucleus        Paxillin= focal contacts

CD49b (Integrin α2)= plasma membrane        ZO-1= zonula occludens