Description
Description: This assay employs a two-site sandwich ELISA to quantitate ZIC1 in samples. An antibody specific for ZIC1 has been pre-coated onto a microplate. Standards and samples are pipetted into the wells and any ZIC1 present is bound by the immobilized antibody. After removing any unbound substances, a biotin-conjugated antibody specific for ZIC1 is added to the wells. After washing, Streptavidin conjugated Horseradish Peroxidase (HRP) is added to the wells. Following a wash to remove any unbound avidin-enzyme reagent, a substrate solution is added to the wells and color develops in proportion to the amount of ZIC1 bound in the initial step. The color development is stopped and the intensity of the color is measured.
Overview: The putative open reading frame is 1,344 nucleotides encoding 447 amino acids and is preceded by 530 nucleotides of a 5-prime untranslated region. Northern blot hybridization studies failed to demonstrate zic expression in any tissues other than nervous tissue. Within the central nervous system, the highest level of expression was in the cerebellum, whereas the olfactory bulb, diencephalon, and brainstem showed only low levels of zic expression. The zic gene has significant homology to the zinc finger domain of the Caenorhabditis elegans tra1 gene, the Drosophila cubitus interruptus dominant gene, and the human GLI oncogene. In situ hybridization demonstrated restricted expression of zic in granule cells and their putative precursors. It is also expressed in the dorsal half of the neural tube at early embryonic stages