Description
CD9, also known as TSPAN-29, is a member of tetraspanin family. It is found on the surface of exosomes. It can modulate cell adhesion and migration and also trigger platelet activation and aggregation. In addition, the protein appears to promote muscle cell fusion and support myotube maintenance. It seems CD9 has a varying role in different types of cancers. The over expression of CD9 was shown to decrease metastasis in certain types of melanoma, breast, lung, pancreas and colon carcinomas. However in other studies, CD9 has been shown to increase migration or be highly expressed in metastatic cancers in various cell lines such as lung cancer, scirrhous-type gastric cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, acute lymphoblastic leukemia and breast cancer. Recombinant human CD9, fused to hIgG-His-tag at C-terminus, was expressed in insect cell and purified by using conventional chromatography techniques