REXO2 Antibody

What is REXO2 Antibody?

REXO2 antibody is a laboratory tool designed to detect and study REXO2 (RNA exonuclease 2 homolog), a 3'-to-5' exonuclease critical for degrading small RNA and DNA oligonucleotides (≤5 nucleotides) in human cells . REXO2 plays dual roles in mitochondrial RNA processing and cytosolic nucleic acid regulation, with implications in mitochondrial structure maintenance, transcription initiation, and immune homeostasis . Antibodies targeting REXO2 enable researchers to investigate its expression, localization, and functional roles in diseases such as interferonopathies, gliomas, and inflammatory conditions .

Mitochondrial RNA Regulation

• REXO2 localizes to both mitochondrial matrix/intermembrane space and cytosol . Depletion causes mitochondrial fragmentation, reduced mtDNA content, and impaired protein synthesis .

• Antibodies confirmed REXO2’s role in degrading nanoRNAs (2–4 nt) to prevent aberrant transcription initiation in mitochondria .

Disease Associations

• Interferonopathies: A dominant-negative REXO2 variant (T132A) causes cytosolic mtRNA accumulation, triggering MDA5-mediated type I interferon responses and skin inflammation . Antibodies detected elevated IFNα/β in patient sera and PBMCs .

• Cancer: REXO2 overexpression correlates with worse prognosis in IDH-wildtype gliomas (HR = 1.8, P < 0.0001) . Its expression is linked to immune infiltration in lower-grade gliomas .

Technical Validation

• Western Blot: Detects endogenous REXO2 at 27 kDa in HeLa, 293T, and Jurkat lysates .

• Immunofluorescence: Mitochondrial and cytosolic localization observed in L929 and U-2 OS cells .

• ELISA: Quantifies REXO2 levels in serum and cell lysates, with sensitivity down to 0.1 ng/mL .

Key Validation Data

Limitations and Considerations

• Cross-reactivity with uncharacterized mitochondrial proteins reported in some batches .

• Cytosolic isoforms require subcellular fractionation for accurate detection .