The invention provides anti-polyubiquitin antibodies and methods of using the same.

The invention provides a method of diagnosing arthritis or other joint degrading disease in a subject which comprises determining whether there is a presence or increase of lubricin having a joint tissue posttranslational modification, in a blood sample from the subject, the presence or increase of the lubricin having the joint tissue posttranslational modification indicating arthritis or other joint degrading disease in the subject. The invention further provides a kit or protocol for detecting arthritis or other joint degrading disease by detecting lubricin, the lubricin comprising a joint tissue posttranslational modification.

The invention provides anti-polyubiquitin antibodies and methods of using the same.

The present invention refers to p53 sequence and post translational modifications (PTMs) and to their use as biomarkers in the diagnosis of neurodegenerative disease and cognitive decline and/or in the prognosis of Alzheimer's disease at different stages and/or of neurodegenerative disease in a biological sample. The invention also provides for a 1) diagnostic method based on a highly accurate mass spectrometry analysis for the diagnosis of neurodegenerative disease, including Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), Alzheimer's disease (AD), fronto-temporal dementia (FTD), Lewi's Body (LB), and vascular dementia (VD) in a subject, by evaluating the PTMs to the said p53 linear sequence protein and possible cut of its full sequence specifically in human plasma of patients; and 2) prognosis of AD in CU and MCI patients.

Methods for treating cardiovascular disease, and in particular heart failure, are provided comprising administering a therapeutically effective amount of a modulator of SERCA2a post-translation modification such as SUMOylation or acetylation. Also provided are methods of treating cardiovascular disease by inhibiting SERCA2a degradation. Further provided are methods of diagnosing a propensity to develop heart failure comprising determining if a SERCA2a mutant is present or determining the level of expression of SUMO1 in cardiomyocytes. The disclosure also provides methods of screening for therapeutics that modulate the post-translational modification of SERCA2a, such as by modulating post-translational SUMOylation and/or acetylation.

Anti-K63-linked polyubiquitin monoclonal antibodies, and methods for using the antibodies, are provided.

Provided herein and methods and kits for identifying inhibitors of SUMOylation. The provided methods include contacting a candidate agent with (i) a SUMO-conjugating peptide comprising an N-terminal linker and a detectable tag, and (ii) a SUMO comprising a metal complex, under conditions that allow binding between the SUMO-conjugating peptide and the SUMO, and detecting the detectable tag thereby determining the level of binding between the SUMO-conjugating peptide and SUMO. A reduced level of binding as compared to the level of binding in the absence of the candidate agent indicating the agent inhibits SUMOylation.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method for efficiently identifying a polyubiquitinated substrate which is generally not easily identified. The method for identifying a polyubiquitinated substrate includes (1) a step of expressing a trypsin-resistant polyubiquitin chain-binding protein and a ubiquitin ligase in a cell, (2) a step of isolating a complex that contains the trypsin-resistant polyubiquitin chain-binding protein from the cell having undergone the step (1), (3) a step of subjecting the complex isolated by the step (2) to trypsin digestion, and (4) a step of identifying a peptide that has a ubiquitination site from a digested material obtained by the step (3).

Provided herein is technology relating to the biological process of protein ubiquitination and particularly, but not exclusively, to compositions and methods for studying protein ubiquitination and developing therapeutics to modulate protein ubiquitination.

This present technology relates to the use of inflammation-enabling polypeptides (or their coding sequences) to screen for agents useful for the prevention, treatment and/or alleviations of symptoms associated with an inflammatory disorder, to identify individuals susceptible of developing an exacerbated inflammatory response as well as to determine if a therapeutic regimen is capable of preventing, treating or alleviating the symptoms associated to an inflammatory disorder in an individual. The present technology also provides methods for preventing, treating and/or alleviating the symptoms associated to an inflammatory condition based on the inhibition of expression or activity of the inflammation-enabling targets.