Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular BiologyType: Couldn't replicate a published resultArea: pain therapeuticsTarget: SVmab1 antibody against NaV1.7Stage: preclinical
Hypothesis
The monoclonal antibody SVmab1, made from its published sequence, would bind the NaV1.7 sodium channel and block its currents, as originally reported.
What failed
Recombinant SVmab1 did not bind the peptide it was raised against or the purified NaV1.7 domain, did not bind NaV1.7 on three types of live cells, and blocked NaV1.7 currents no more than a control antibody.
Broken assumption
An antibody can be reproduced with the same activity from its published sequence.
Why
The abstract does not give a cause. The antibody made from the published sequence did not have the reported activity.
From the published paper: Liu et al. F1000Research, 2016. ↗CC BY