Description
Product Characteristics: It is a cocktail of four highly specific monoclonal antibodies that recognize extracellular as well as intracellular domains of the epithelial cellular adhesion molecule (EpCAM). It is a 40-43 kDa transmembrane epithelial glycoprotein, identified as epithelial specific antigen (ESA), or EpCAM. EpCAM is expressed on baso-lateral cell surface in most simple epithelia and a vast majority of carcinomas. This epithelial antigen plays an important role as a tumor-cell marker in lymph nodes from patients with esophageal carcinoma otherwise classified as node-negative. Epithelial antigen has also been suggested as a discriminator between basal cell and baso-squamous carcinomas, and squamous cell carcinoma of the skin.
Target Information: This gene encodes a carcinoma-associated antigen and is a member of a family that includes at least two type I membrane proteins. This antigen is expressed on most normal epithelial cells and gastrointestinal carcinomas and functions as a homotypic calcium-independent cell adhesion molecule. The antigen is being used as a target for immunotherapy treatment of human carcinomas. Mutations in this gene result in congenital tufting enteropathy. [provided by RefSeq, Dec 2008]