PathDetect Reporter Activator Plasmid

Determine the direct or indirect involvement of new gene products, growth factors, and drug candidates in specific pathways with our PathDetect Trans-Reporting Systems. Other reporter enzymes may offer advantages for certain laboratories or experiments. PathDetect pFR-CAT trans-Reporter Plasmid enables the use of the PathDetect system with chloramphenicol (CAT) as the reporter protein instead of luciferase. Chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) may be preferred by laboratories that routinely perform CAT assays. Reporter plasmids may be used with PathDetect systems and the assay that was used to validate them.


Use pFR-CAT plasmid with PathDetect systems. CAT catalyzes the transfer of acetyl groups from acetyl-coenzyme A to chloramphenicol. The level of background CAT activity in mammalian cells is minimal, as it is a prokaryotic enzyme. The CAT protein is very stable, with a half-life in mammalian cells of ~50 hour as compared with the ~5-hour half-life of luciferase. Various formats for CAT activity assay are available, including isotopic and nonisotopic scintillation and thin-layer chromatography.