TY - JOUR
T1 - Improving the integrity and reproducibility of research that uses antibodies
T2 - a technical, data sharing, behavioral and policy challenge
AU - Biddle, M
AU - Stylianou, P
AU - Rekas, M
AU - Wright, A
AU - Sousa, J
AU - Ruddy, D
AU - Stefana, M I
AU - Kmiecik, K
AU - Bandrowski, A
AU - Kahn, R A
AU - Laflamme, C
AU - Krockow, E M
AU - Virk, H S
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - Antibodies are one of the most important reagents used in biomedical and fundamental research, used to identify, and quantify proteins, contribute to knowledge of disease mechanisms, and validate drug targets. Yet many antibodies used in research do not recognize their intended target, or recognize additional molecules, compromising the integrity of research findings and leading to waste of resources, lack of reproducibility, failure of research projects, and delays in drug development. Researchers frequently use antibodies without confirming that they perform as intended in their application of interest. Here we argue that the determinants of end-user antibody choice and use are critical, and under-addressed, behavioral drivers of this problem. This interacts with the batch-to-batch variability of these biological reagents, and the paucity of available characterization data for most antibodies, making it more difficult for researchers to choose high quality reagents and perform necessary validation experiments. The open-science company YCharOS works with major antibody manufacturers and knockout cell line producers to characterize antibodies, identifying high-performing renewable antibodies for many targets in neuroscience. This shows the progress that can be made by stakeholders working together. However, their work so far applies to only a tiny fraction of available antibodies. Where characterization data exists, end-users need help to find and use it appropriately. While progress has been made in the context of technical solutions and antibody characterization, we argue that initiatives to make best practice behaviors by researchers more feasible, easy, and rewarding are needed. Global cooperation and coordination between multiple partners and stakeholders will be crucial to address the technical, policy, behavioral, and open data sharing challenges. We offer potential solutions by describing our Only Good Antibodies initiative, a community of researchers and partner organizations working toward the necessary change. We conclude with an open invitation for stakeholders, including researchers, to join our cause.
AB - Antibodies are one of the most important reagents used in biomedical and fundamental research, used to identify, and quantify proteins, contribute to knowledge of disease mechanisms, and validate drug targets. Yet many antibodies used in research do not recognize their intended target, or recognize additional molecules, compromising the integrity of research findings and leading to waste of resources, lack of reproducibility, failure of research projects, and delays in drug development. Researchers frequently use antibodies without confirming that they perform as intended in their application of interest. Here we argue that the determinants of end-user antibody choice and use are critical, and under-addressed, behavioral drivers of this problem. This interacts with the batch-to-batch variability of these biological reagents, and the paucity of available characterization data for most antibodies, making it more difficult for researchers to choose high quality reagents and perform necessary validation experiments. The open-science company YCharOS works with major antibody manufacturers and knockout cell line producers to characterize antibodies, identifying high-performing renewable antibodies for many targets in neuroscience. This shows the progress that can be made by stakeholders working together. However, their work so far applies to only a tiny fraction of available antibodies. Where characterization data exists, end-users need help to find and use it appropriately. While progress has been made in the context of technical solutions and antibody characterization, we argue that initiatives to make best practice behaviors by researchers more feasible, easy, and rewarding are needed. Global cooperation and coordination between multiple partners and stakeholders will be crucial to address the technical, policy, behavioral, and open data sharing challenges. We offer potential solutions by describing our Only Good Antibodies initiative, a community of researchers and partner organizations working toward the necessary change. We conclude with an open invitation for stakeholders, including researchers, to join our cause.
KW - Antibodies
KW - Cell Line
KW - Information Dissemination
KW - Policy
KW - Reproducibility of Results
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85187196341&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/19420862.2024.2323706
DO - 10.1080/19420862.2024.2323706
M3 - Article
C2 - 38444344
SN - 1942-0862
VL - 16
JO - mAbs
JF - mAbs
IS - 1
M1 - 2323706
ER -