Human Bactericidal Permeability-increasing Protein (BPI) ELISA

Features

The total assay time is 4.5 hours

The kit measures Bactericidal Permeability-increasing Protein (BPI) in human Cell Culture Medium, Plasma, Wound Fluid, Bronchoalveolar lavage

Assay format is 96 wells

Components of the kit are provided ready to use or concentrated

Research topic

Immune Response, Infection and Inflammation, Transplantation

Summary

The antimicrobial protein BPI (Bactericidal Permeability Increasing protein) is a 55 kDa protein found in the primary (azurophilic) granules of human neutrophils and has also been detected on surface of neutrophils, small intestinal and oral epithelial cells. BPI is a bactericidal compound that is present in polymorphonuclear cells (PMN) and in lower levels in the specific granules of eosinophils. BPI possesses high affinity toward the lipid A region of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) that comprise the outer leaflet of the gram-negative bacterial outer membrane. Binding of BPI to the lipid A moiety of LPS exerts multiple anti-infective activities against gram-negative bacteria: 1) cytotoxicity via sequential damage to bacterial outer and inner lipid membranes, 2)  neutralization of gram-negative bacterial LPS, 3) opsonization of bacteria to enhance phagocytosis by neutrophils. Airway epithelial cells constitutively express the BPI gene and produce the BPI protein and, therefore, BPI may be a critical determinant in the development of LPS-triggered airway disease. Inflammation induced by LPS possibly contributes to the development of rapid airflow decline, a serious and often fatal complication of hematopoietic cell transplantation. In plasma of healthy individuals BPI is present at levels of < 0.5 ng/ml, which increases approximately 10-fold during acute phase responses.