Investigating Neuropsychiatric Disorders with Improved Immunohistochemistry at Yale Child Study Center

Dr Manavi Chatterjee, Yale University Lombroso Laboratory, Yale Child Study Center The Lombroso Laboratory studies the processes of mammalian learning that are disrupted in various neuropsychiatric disorders. The group are involved in translational neuroscience with a focus on Alzheimer's disease, fragile X syndrome, and schizophrenia.

Yale Child Study Center

Scientists at Yale School of Medicine Child Study Center are at the forefront of science investigating neurological disorders including Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia and fragile X syndrome (FXS).

SelectScience^® spoke to Dr Manavi Chatterjee, a postdoctoral associate in the laboratory of Dr Paul Lombroso, to find out more about her neuroscience research and how secondary antibodies from Jackson ImmunoResearch Laboratories Inc. have improved their immunohistochemistry results.

Q: Tell us about research in the Lombroso lab

A: The main interest of the lab is an enzyme called STriatal Enriched Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase (STEP), which was discovered by Dr. Paul Lombroso himself in 1990. The lab has been continuously characterizing its substrates and its regulation in disease models. STEP is implicated in many neurological disorders. We have recently discovered an inhibitor, TC-2153, that rescues behavioral abnormalities associated with AD and schizophrenia, making STEP a translationally relevant target for these disorders.

Q: What current projects are your working on?

A: We are continuously characterizing the extent of STEP's involvement in various brain functions. My projects focus on the role of STEP in FXS. The abnormalities in FXS include impaired adult neurogenesis. Our goal here is to figure out whether STEP is involved.

In our research, we use antibodies for Western blotting, immunocytochemistry, immunoprecipitation and immunohistochemistry. We use secondary antibodies tagged with a fluorescent marker from Jackson ImmunoResearch Laboratories Inc. and mainly use them for immunohistochemistry.

Jackson ImmunoResearch has a huge range of antibodies and they are reasonably priced. They come in a variety of host species which is useful if one uses double or triple labeling. More specifically, I was looking for a secondary antibody tagged with a blue dye so that I could visualize it with the DAPI filter. I tried various secondary antibodies from different companies but failed to visualize anything under the microscope. I discussed the matter with the customer care support but nothing helped. Finally, upon recommendation from a colleague, I tried the AMCA-AffiniPure Goat Anti-Chicken IgY antibody from Jackson ImmunoResearch, it worked wonderfully. I highly recommend it.

Q: What do you see for the future of your research?

A: In the future, we are planning to study long-term effects of STEP inhibitor in disease models. We would also like to see a druggable STEP inhibitor in the market. Techniques which will help us profile the inhibitor better will definitely be useful.

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