Week 3
This week we did about 6 different ELISAs to test whether epitopes on the virus were available after being treated with the KR-13 molecule. The KR-13 binds to the surface of HIV to a glycopprotein called gp120. This binding leads to the eventual lysis of the virus thus disabling it. It is important to figure out what the molecule is doing exactly ,beside binding to gp120, to cause the virus to lyse. So we test whether other epitopes on the virus are exposed or covered with the KR13 molecule.
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| Diagram of an HIV virus with a clear representation of gp120. |
ELISA is the perfect procedure to test whether an epitope is free or occupied. This assay is used to detect if a particular protein or antibody is present and how much of it there is in a sample. After a series of antibody binding, an enzyme will bind to a substrate producing color. This color can then be detected and measured to yield data for how much of a particular protein or is in a given sample. By changing which antibodies are used in the experiment you can detect different proteins. Thus we tested six different sites on HIV to see if the KR13 molecule was interacting there.
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| This is a picture of an ELISA plate. You can clearly see the colormetric detection. Thus this result tells us that the samples at the top had free epitopes to bind to.
Next Week we will be analyzing the results.
-Jada
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