Species predicted to react based on 100% sequence homology:Rat, Bovine
Specificity / Sensitivity
Phospho-C/EBPalpha (Ser21) Antibody detects endogenous levels of C/EBPalpha only when phosphorylated at serine 21. This antibody does not cross-react with other phosphorylated C/EBP isoforms.
Source / Purification
Polyclonal antibodies are produced by immunizing animals with a synthetic phosphopeptide corresponding to residues surrounding Ser21 of human C/EBPalpha. Antibodies are purified by protein A and peptide affinity chromatography.
Background
CCAAT/enhancer-binding proteins (C/EBPs) are a family of transcription factors that are critical for cellular differentiation, terminal function and inflammatory response (1). Six members of the family have been characterized (C/EBPα, β, δ, γ, ε and ζ) and are distributed in a variety of tissues (1). Translation from alternative start codons results in two isoforms of C/EBPα (p42 and p30), which are both strong transcriptional activators (2). It has been reported that insulin and insulin-like growth factor-1 stimulate the dephosphorylation of C/EBPα, which may play a key role in insulin induced repression of GLUT4 transcription (3). Phosphorylation of C/EBPα at Thr222, Thr226 and Ser230 by GSK3 seems to be required for adipogenesis (4).