L-Serine quantification by ELISA? It’s now possible!

L-Serine (L-Ser) is a non-essential amino acid which becomes conditionally essential – in certain circumstances – particularly when it cannot be synthesized in a sufficient amount to meet the cellular demands. L-Ser may be derived from different sources including dietary intake, the glycolytic intermediate 3-phosphoglycerate, glycine as well as protein and phospholipid degradation. It’s worth noting that enzymes involved in L-Ser biosynthesis are upregulated in highly proliferating cells, including cancer cells, to limit L-Ser over-consumption. Besides its essential role in cell proliferation, L-Ser is important for brain development and functions which are especially sustained by i) altered L-Ser levels in psychiatric disorders and ii) occurrence of severe neurological abnormalities in patients with defects in L-Ser biosynthesis.

 

Given its roles in such critical functions, L-Ser quantification in biological samples is critical. We thus developed and validated a novel Serine ELISA kit (#IS-I-1200) which allows for L-Ser quantitation in biological samples including plasma, sera as well as cell culture supernatants. The assay requires a low sample volume of 10μL and is characterized by a 2.4µM sensitivity.