This product is a ready-to-use Protein Transport Inhibitor Cocktail (500X concentrate), containing optimized concentrations of Brefeldin A and Monensin Sodium. Working synergistically, they efficiently and specifically block the Golgi-mediated protein transport pathway within cells. It is widely used in intracellular detection assays for secretory proteins like cytokines and chemokines. When used in combination with cell stimulators (e.g., PMA/Ionomycin), it causes newly synthesized target proteins to accumulate intracellularly, making it a key reagent for Intracellular Cytokine Staining (ICS) by flow cytometry.
Key Components:
Ethonal
brefeldin A 1.5mg/mL,Monensin sodium salt 0.7mg/mL
Applications
Co-stimulation Required: This is an inhibitor cocktail and must be used together with cell stimulators to be meaningful. Using it alone only blocks baseline secretion.
Timing is Critical: Incubation time is key to success. Too short (<2 hours) leads to insufficient accumulation; too long (>6 hours) may increase non-specific background staining and affect viability.
Supernatant Analysis: The secreted proteins blocked by this cocktail CANNOT be detected in the cell culture supernatant. Do not add this cocktail if you need to analyze factors secreted into the medium.
Suitable for: Intracellular staining of both suspension cells (e.g., lymphocytes) and adherent cells.
Instructions for Use
Standard Protocol
Cell Stimulation: Add stimulants (e.g., antigens, PMA/Ionomycin cocktail) to the cell culture to activate the cells.
Add Inhibitors: At the beginning of stimulation (or shortly after), add this cocktail to the culture at a 1:500 dilution. For example, add 2 µL of the 500X concentrate to 1 mL of cell suspension.
Incubation: Continue incubating the cells in a 37°C, 5% CO₂ incubator. Critical Incubation Time: Typically 4 to 6 hours. This allows sufficient protein synthesis and intracellular accumulation while minimizing the impact of inhibitor toxicity on cell viability. Incubation beyond 12 hours is not recommended.
Post-Processing: After incubation, harvest the cells and proceed with standard protocols for surface staining, fixation, permeabilization, and intracellular staining.
Key Precautions
Co-stimulation Required: This is an inhibitor cocktail and must be used together with cell stimulators to be meaningful. Using it alone only blocks baseline secretion.
Timing is Critical: Incubation time is key to success. Too short (<2 hours) leads to insufficient accumulation; too long (>6 hours) may increase non-specific background staining and affect viability.
Supernatant Analysis: The secreted proteins blocked by this cocktail CANNOT be detected in the cell culture supernatant. Do not add this cocktail if you need to analyze factors secreted into the medium.
Aliquot upon receipt to minimize freeze-thaw cycles.