The Omni Bead Ruptor Elite™ bead mill homogenizer enables rapid and efficient tissue homogenization for various sample types. It can homogenize samples using optimized bead matrices to facilitate sample disruption. Bead milling can replace traditional disruption methods, including incubation in the presence of harsh chemicals or pulverization under cryogenic conditions [1].
5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is an antimetabolic agent and influences the synthesis of DNA and RNA in normal and tumor cells. 5-FU is widely used in chemotherapy for various colon, breast, gastrointestinal, head, neck, and pancreatic cancers [2]. Considered to be a nephrotoxic compound, toxicity and unwanted side effects occur following its use.
In this application note, female nude mice were treated with 5-FU to generate a kidney toxicity model and study the cellular effects of 5-FU treatment. Mouse tissue samples were processed for total protein lysates using the Omni Bead Ruptor Elite bead mill homogenizer and tested for biomarkers using AlphaLISA® SureFire® Ultra technology, investigating the expression level of both phosphorylated and total targets. One of the targets investigated was extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK), which is found to be involved in acute and chronic kidney disease [3].
Figure 4: Normalized phosphorylated ERK AlphaLISA result. 3 mice per treatment condition. There was a slight decrease in phosphorylated ERK signaling in 5-FU treated mice relative to untreated control mice.