How can I set up a drug screening assay with my kinesin protein?
FAQ from CYTOSKELETON
Kinesin motor proteins use microtubules (MTs) as a substrate to orchestrate a wide range of kinetic events within a cell. They have been shown to move cargoes such as chromosomes and vessicles along MT tracks. Kinesins operate by utilizing the energy of ATP by hydrolysis, an activity that is greatly enhanced in the presence of MTs. To screen drugs that modulate the interactions between motor proteins and MTs, a MT-activated kinesin ATPase assay can be used as a test for the MT-activated ATPase activity of kinesins. Cytoskeleton developed two such assays, one end-point and one kinetic, that are useful for the discovery and optimization of kinesin modulators. Both assays measure inorganic phosphate (Pi) levels generated by microtubule-activated kinesin adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) activity. These two kinesin ATPase biochem assay kits provide MTs and kinesin heavy chain (KHC) protein along with the necessary buffers and reagents to measure Pi production as a means of screening drugs that modulate kinesin and/or MT functional interactions. These kits are useful for discovering kinesin inhibitors and activators as well as determining Vmax and Kcat values for a kinesin motor protein.