MADISON, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Promega Corporation’s new bioluminescent HiBiT Protein Tagging System can be combined with CRISPR/CAS9-mediated gene editing to tag endogenous proteins and simplify their study under natural expression conditions, as demonstrated in “CRISPR-Mediated Tagging of Endogenous Proteins with a Luminescent Peptide,” a recently published paper in the journal ACS Chemical Biology. HiBiT technology, which provides a small, sensitive, easily quantifiable peptide tag, allows researchers to make better cell models, hastening efforts in understanding the biology of key human diseases.
“HiBiT really represents a breakthrough in the way we measure protein trafficking or protein secretion,” says Julian Sebag, PhD, University Of Iowa Carver College Of Medicine, who is using the HiBiT tag for research in developing novel treatments for obesity and diabetes. His research using HiBiT was published last week in BBA Molecular Cell Research.
Kentaro Oh-hashi, PhD, Gifu University, Japan, recently demonstrated CRISPR-mediated knock-in of HiBiT to study ATF4 protein biology resulting in the publication of a paper last month in Biochemistry and Biophysics Reports.
HiBiT enables sensitive detection of tagged proteins down to endogenous expression levels. The small 11 amino acid HiBiT tag is added to a protein of interest, which can then be detected and quantified with a simple luminescent signal. The tag’s small size makes it easy to insert using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, and when combined with the detection reagent, the resulting bioluminescence is sensitive enough to measure endogenous protein expression in minutes without the need for antibodies.
Promega launched the new HiBiT Protein Tagging System in August and it is already gaining global attention, receiving a 2017 Product Innovation Award at MipTec, a leading European exhibition highlighting the latest advances in drug discovery.
“We are excited that the simple approach of using HiBiT with CRISPR/Cas9 allows researchers to more easily get at the true biology being studied to understand the protein dynamics that are a part of normal physiology or development of disease,” says Marie Schwinn, Promega Senior Research Scientist and lead author of the Promega paper in ACS Chemical Biology.
To learn more about the new HiBiT Protein Tagging System visit: promega.com/ProteinTag
About Promega
Promega Corporation is a leader in providing innovative solutions and technical support to the life sciences industry. The company’s 3,500 products enable scientists worldwide to advance their knowledge in genomics, proteomics, cellular analysis, drug discovery and human identification. Founded in 1978, the company is headquartered in Madison, WI, USA with branches in 16 countries and over 50 global distributors. For more information about Promega, visit www.promega.com.