Cytokeratin 18 Monoclonal Antibody (LDK18), eBioscience™, Invitrogen™

Description

Description: The monoclonal antibody LDK18 recognizes human Cytokeratin 18. Cytokeratin 18 is member of the large family of intermediate filaments found within epithelial cells. The family of cytokeratins is made up of type I (acidic) and type II (basic) members which form heterodimers by pairing an acidic with a basic member to compose the keratin filament. Cytokeratin 18 (type I) is most commonly found associated with cytokeratin 8 (type II). Because many tumors of epithelial origin retain expression of keratin proteins, cytokeratin 18 has been used as a tumor marker to identify both tumors and metastases. In addition, cytokeratin 18 has been shown to be expressed in highly proliferative retinal pigment epithelium cells. Applications Reported: This LDK18 antibody has been reported for use in western blotting, microscopy, immunohistochemical staining, and immunocytochemistry. Applications Tested: This LDK18 antibody has been tested by immmunocytochemistry of MeOH-fixed human cells and can be used at less than or equal to 1 μg/mL. It is recommended that the antibody be titrated for optimal performance in the assay of interest. Purity: Greater than 90%, as determined by SDS-PAGE. Aggregation: Less than 10%, as determined by HPLC. Filtration: 0.2 μm post-manufacturing filtered.

Cytokeratin 18 (Keratin 18, KRT18, type I cytoskeletal 18) belongs to the type A (acidic) subfamily of low molecular weight keratins, exists in combination with cytokeratin 8. Tissues from gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tract and urogenital tract, as well as endocrine and exocrine tissues and mesothelial cells are positive for cytokeratin 18. Further, cytokeratin 18 is found primarily in non-squamous epithelia and is present in a majority of adenocarcinomas and ductal carcinomas, but not in squamous cell carcinomas. Hepatocellular carcinomas express only cytokeratins 8 and 18. Mutations in the cytokeratin 18 gene have been linked to cryptogenic cirrhosis. Two transcript variants encoding the same protein have been found for the cytokeratin 18 gene. Cytokeratin subtype expression patterns are used to an increasing extent in the distinction of different types of epithelial malignancies. The cytokeratin antibodies are not only of assistance in the differential diagnosis of tumors using immunohistochemistry on tissue sections, but are also a useful tool in cytopathology and flow cytometric assays.