CRY2 Monoclonal Antibody (OTI1H5), Invitrogen™

Description

• Various biochemical, physiological and behavioral processes display circadian rhythms controlled by an internal biological clock
• The central &quotegears&quote driving this clock appear to be composed of an autoregulatory transcription/post translation-based feedback loop
• Cryptochrome 1 (CRY1) and 2 (CRY2) are DNA-binding flavoproteins that bear some homology to blue-light receptors and photolyases
• In Drosophila, CRY is a photoreceptor for the circadian clock where it binds to the clock component TIM in a light-dependent fashion and blocks its function
• Mammalian CRY1 and CRY2 function via light-independent interactions with circadian genes CLOCK and BMAL1, as well as with PER1, PER2, and TIM
• They seem to act as light-independent components of the circadian clock and likely regulate Per1 transcriptional cycling via interactions with both the activator and its feedback inhibitors
• Mutant mice not expressing the Cry1 or Cry2 protein display accelerated and delayed periodicity of locomotor activity, respectively
• It appears that the combination of both proteins working together is essential to synchronize the organism to circadian phases
• A critical balance between Cry1 and Cry2 is required for proper clock function; in complete darkness, double-mutant mice present with instantaneous arrhythmicity, indicating the absence of an internal circadian clock.