Antibody characterization is critical to enhance reproducibility in biomedical research
Richard Kahn, Harvinder Virk, Carl Laflamme, Douglas W. Houston, Nicole K. Polinski, Rob Meijers, Allan I. Levey, Clifford B. Saper, Timothy M. Errington, Rachel E. Turn, Anita Bandrowski, James S. Trimmer, Meghan A. Rego, Leonard P. Freedman, Fortunato Ferrara, Andrew Bradbury, Hannah Cable, Skye Longworth
Abstract
Antibodies are used in many areas of biomedical and clinical research, but many of these antibodies have not been adequately characterized, which casts doubt on the results reported in many scientific papers. This problem is compounded by a lack of suitable control experiments in many studies. In this article we review the history of the 'antibody characterization crisis', and we document efforts and initiatives to address the problem, notably for antibodies that target human proteins. We also present recommendations for a range of stakeholders - researchers, universities, journals, antibody vendors and repositories, scientific societies and funders - to increase the reproducibility of studies that rely on antibodies.