Description | anti-rat CD4 monoclonal antibody recognizes a determinant on the majority of thymocytes (90-95%), a subset of peripheral T cells and peritoneal macrophages. (1,2,3,10.) The antigen recognized by this antibody is a surface glycoprotein of Mr 48,000-52,000 and is the homologue of the human CD4 and the mouse L3/T4 antigen. ABIN133181labels the rat T helper subset, which mediates the helper activity for B and T cells, graft vs. host (GVH) reactivity and produces IL-2 in the mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR). (2,4,6,). ABIN133181is invaluable for separating T cell subsets for functional studies. It has been used in studying the role of T lymphocytes in graft rejections (7) and in studying the subsets of T cells in the rat which mediate graft vs. host disease.(8) This particular antibody is also one of three antibodies which labels T lymphocyte populations in the rat. These clones include W3/13 ABIN133181, which labels all T cells, as well as MRC OX-8 ABIN133181 and W3/25 ABIN133181 which label non- overlapping T cell subpopulations. These monoclonal antibodies used in concert are being employed extensively to investigate cellular aspects of the immune response in rats and prove to be useful as markers for functionally distinct subpopulations of lymphocytes. Target Information: This gene encodes a membrane glycoprotein of T lymphocytes that interacts with major histocompatibility complex class II antigenes and is also a receptor for the human immunodeficiency virus. This gene is expressed not only in T lymphocytes, but also in B cells, macrophages, and granulocytes. It is also expressed in specific regions of the brain. The protein functions to initiate or augment the early phase of T-cell activation, and may function as an important mediator of indirect neuronal damage in infectious and immune-mediated diseases of the central nervous system. Multiple alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been identified in this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Aug 2010]. |