Description: | The ATX Sandwich ELISA provides a robust and simple method for researchers to measure ATX in biological samples. The concentration of ATX in the sample is determined using a standard curve of known amounts of ATX. Autotaxin, also known as ATX, ENPP2, lysophospholipase D (lysoPLD), phosphodiesterase 1α and plasma cell glycoprotein-1, is a secreted glycoprotein that is widely expressed with high levels in the serum. Via its lysoPLD activity, autotaxin hydrolyzes lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) to generate the phospholipid growth factor lysophosphatidic acid (LPA). The enzyme’s same activity hydrolyzes sphingosylphosphorylcholine (SPC) to form sphinosine-1-phosphate (S1P). Autotaxin was first isolated as the autocrine motility factor secreted from melanoma cells. At that time, the enzyme’s lysoPLD activity had not been identified, so it was classified by homology to the ecto-nucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase (NPP) family of enzymes whose members hydrolyze phosphodiester bonds in various nucleotides and nucleotide derivatives. It was initially unclear how nucleotide hydrolysis could lead to the stimulation of cell motility. This mystery was solved when autotaxin was discovered to be identical to serum lysoPLD. Since then, the cancer-related activities of autotaxin, at least in cultured cells, have been attributed to the enzyme’s lysoPLD activity. In addition to cancer, autotaxin has been implicated in a number of diseases including obesity, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease and neuropathic pain. |