Description
Product Characteristics: Podocalyxin is a member of the CD34 transmembrane sialomucin family. It is over-expressed on the podocyte foot projections and plays essential roles in kidney development and homeostasis, blood filtration and urine formation. It is also expressed on vascular endothelia, hematopoietic progenitors and a subset of neurons. Overexpression of podocalyxin may be linked to more aggressive tumor behavior. Podocalyxin antibody can identify podocytes in the urine (podocyturia) that may indicate glomerular disease, pre-eclampsia, and other kidney pathology.
Target Information: This gene encodes a member of the sialomucin protein family. The encoded protein was originally identified as an important component of glomerular podocytes. Podocytes are highly differentiated epithelial cells with interdigitating foot processes covering the outer aspect of the glomerular basement membrane. Other biological activities of the encoded protein include: binding in a membrane protein complex with Na+/H+ exchanger regulatory factor to intracellular cytoskeletal elements, playing a role in hematopoetic cell differentiation, and being expressed in vascular endothelium cells and binding to L-selectin. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]