Description
Product Characteristics: MICA Antibody: Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I proteins are ubiquitously expressed and mediate the recognition of intracellular antigens by cytotoxic T cells. A related family, termed the MHC class I chain-related (MIC) proteins are recognized by NKG2D, a receptor on NK and T cells, and promote anti-tumor activity. MICA, a member of the MIC family, is widely expressed on many tumors, and it is the MICA/NKG2D interaction that is thought to stimulate the anti-tumor reactivity by T lymphocytes. Both MICA and MICB mRNA are widely expressed in normal tissues, with MICA being present in virtually every tissue except the nervous system, suggesting that MIC protein expression may only be one component of the anti-tumor activity of the immune system.
Target Information: MICA encodes the higly polymorphic MHC (HLA) class I chain-related gene A. The protein product is expressed on the cell surface, although unlike canonical class I molecules does not seem to associate with beta-2-microglobulin. It is thought that MICA functions as a stress-induced antigen that is broadly recognized by intestinal epithelial gamma delta T cells. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants. [provided by RefSeq, Nov 2010]