The concept of ‘non-specific’ binding, as it relates to studies of the binding of hormones to their receptors, is reviewed. It is concluded that the most widely used operational definition, namely binding that is not displaceable by an excess of unlabelled ligand, is often inaccurate, resulting either in overestimation of the number of high-affinity receptors and underestimation of the affinity of a given hormone for its receptor, or in a curvilinear Scatchard plot suggesting (artifactually) the presence of negative co-operativity or multiple classes of binding sites. The general use of an alternative approach to non-specific binding, in which the non-specific component is assessed from an analysis of total binding, is advocated. The superiority of this approach is illustrated with data on the binding of high-density lipoproteins to their receptors.
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May 1985
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Research Article|
May 15 1985
‘Non-specific’ binding. The problem, and a solution
Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Online ISSN: 1470-8728
Print ISSN: 0264-6021
© 1985 London: The Biochemical Society
1985
Biochem J (1985) 228 (1): 269–272.
Citation
C M Mendel, D B Mendel; ‘Non-specific’ binding. The problem, and a solution. Biochem J 15 May 1985; 228 (1): 269–272. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/bj2280269
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