Prostate Specific Antigen
Scripps offers a wide selection of PSA-related reagents. Below you'll find multiple purity levels of PSA and PSA-ACT Complex, several monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies, plus dilution buffers for your research or assay development.
- PSA & PSA-ACT Complex
- Non-Complexing PSA
- Large Bulk Lots
- Excellent Antibodies for Assay Development
Product Background
Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) is a glycoprotein of the glandular kallikrein family and is a serine protease with chymotrypsin-like activity. Serum levels of PSA are low in healthy individuals, but are often elevated in malignant and benign prostatic disease. Immunoassays for PSA, including its various complexed and non-complexed forms, are in widespread use for the diagnosis and monitoring of prostate cancer.
PSA has a molecular weight of approximately 33,000-34,000 Da and is found primarily in prostate tissue and seminal fluid. Serum levels of PSA are very low in healthy individuals (0-4 ng/ml), but are often elevated in malignant and benign prostatic disease. As such, immunoassays for serum levels of PSA have proven useful in the diagnosis and follow-up of prostate cancer.
PSA released into circulation is present as unbound, free PSA (fPSA) or bound to serum protease inhibitors, such as α1-Antichymotrypsin (ACT) and α2-Macroglobulin (A2M). Research indicates that immunoassays for serum levels of PSA alone cannot be relied on to distinguish prostate cancer from benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Serum levels of PSA-ACT complex are reportedly higher in patients with prostate cancer than in those with BPH. As such, measuring the ratio of PSA-ACT to fPSA in patient samples is proving valuable in the differential diagnosis of prostate cancer.