Several previous reports have concluded that RNA levels cannot be used to predict protein levels. However, in a new study from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, published in the journal Molecular Systems Biology scientists from the Human Protein Atlas show that protein levels can be predicted from RNA levels if a gene-specific RNA-to-protein factor is used.

The human genome consists of DNA, a molecule that contains the instructions needed to build and maintain cells. For the instructions to be carried out, DNA must be read and transcribed into RNA transcripts that can be used to produce protein. The transcriptome is a collection of all the transcripts present in a cell...Read more

An international working group has formulated directives to evaluate antibodies used in biomedical research. A paper in Nature Methods suggests five conceptual pillars for antibody validation.

Antibodies are used frequently both in research and in the clinic, and today over two million commercial antibodies are available for the analysis of human proteins. This has been accompanied with a dramatic development in clinical treatment of diseases, like cancer and autoimmune diseases, where biological drugs in the form of antibodies have changed the treatment of many patient categories...Read more