WideScreen RTK Assays  The Novagen® WideScreen™ Group has developed bead-based assays to simultaneously determine the tyrosine phosphorylation status of several key human Receptor Tyrosine Kinases (RTKs). The WideScreen RTK Assays consist of a series of phosphotyrosine-specific RTK assays and companion total RTK assays. The phosphotyrosine assays utilize specific capture antibodies and a broad-spectrum phosphotyrosine detection antibody. The total RTK assays, which include standards, allow the signals from the phosphotyrosine assays to be compared to the amount of RTK in the sample. Cells are gently lysed and solubilized RTKs are detected in a standard format xMAP® Assay. The RTK Total Assays enable quantitation of several key RTKs whereas the RTK pTyr Assays detect the tyrosine phosphorylation status of the same analytes.
Membrane-bound Receptor Tyrosine Kinases (RTKs) act as gatekeepers for many signaling pathways. RTKs dimerize when bound to their ligand, resulting in the activation of intracellular autophosphorylation domains. Typically, this signal is transmitted to intracellular downstream targets via phosphotyrosine-SH2 domain interactions. The phosphorylation status of RTKs is of interest to cell biologists, researchers investigating disease states, and drug development scientists. A number of drugs have been developed which specifically target RTKs and tools are needed to determine the effects of these novel therapeutic compounds and proteins. | 
