General description

Cytokeratin belongs to the member of intermediate filament (IF) protein family.

Cytokeratins, a group comprising at least 29 different proteins are characteristic of epithelial and trichocytic cells. Cytokeratin 1, 5, 6, and 8 are members of the type II neutral-to-basic subfamily. Cytokeratin peptide 1 (68 kDa) is expressed together with cytokeratin 10 in the suprabasal cell layers or the differentiation compartment of the epidermis. Its expression increases with epidermal maturation and it is modified post-translationally in the terminally differentiated keratinocytes of the stratum corneum. Cytokeratin peptide 5 (58 kDa) is the primary type II keratin in stratified epithelia while cytokeratin type 8 (52 kDa) is a major type II keratin in simple epithelia. Cytokeratin 6 (56 kDa) is a "hyperproliferation" cytokeratin expressed in tissues with natural or pathological high turnover.

Specificity

The antibody recognizes an epitope located on the Type II cytokeratins 1, 5, 6, and 8. PCK-26 is a broad spectrum antibody which reacts specifically with a variety of normal, reactive, and neoplastic epithelial tissues. The antibody reacts with simple, cornifying, and non-cornifying squamous epithelia and pseudostratified epithelia.

Immunogen

cytokeratin from human epidermis.

Application

Monoclonal antibodies to cytokeratins are specific markers of epithelial cell differentiation and have been widely used as tools in tumor identification and classification. Monoclonal Anti-Cytokeratin, pan is a broadly reactive group-type antibody which recognizes an epitope present in most human epithelial tissues. It facilitates the typing of normal, metaplastic and neoplastic cells and it may aid in the discrimination of carcinomas and non-epithelial tumors such as sarcomas, lymphomas and neural tumors. It is also useful in detecting micro-metastases in lymph nodes and other tissues and for determining the origin of poorly differentiated tumors.
Monoclonal Anti-Cytokeratin, pan may be used for the localization of cytokeratins using various immunochemical assays such as immunoblotting, dot blotting, and immunohistochemstry (immunofluorescence and immunoenzymatic staining).
A minimum antibody titer of 1:300 was determined by indirect immunofluorescent staining of protease digested, formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections of human or animal tissues.

Biochem/physiol Actions

Pan-cytokeratin along with the expression of CXCR4, may be a prognostic biomarker for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Disclaimer

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