Anti-CD68 antibodies are used in the immunodetection of the protein CD68 molecule. In humans, the canonical protein has a reported length of 354 amino acid residues and a mass of 37.4 kDa. Its subcellular localization is in the lysosomes and cell membrane. Up to 3 different isoforms have been reported for this protein. It is notably expressed in many tissues, such as the cerebellum and endometrium. A member of the LAMP protein family, CD68 is suspected to be play a role in phagocytic activities of tissue macrophages, both in intracellular lysosomal metabolism and extracellular cell-cell and cell-pathogen interactions. Post-translational modifications have been described, including O-glycosylation.
The CD68 marker can be used to identify Large Intestine Macrophages, Macrophages, Kupffer Cells, Uterine Macrophages, and Hofbauer Cells (HC).* Synonyms for this target antigen include LAMP4, SCARD1, macrosialin, CD68 antigen, macrophage antigen CD68, scavenger receptor class D, member 1, and GP110. CD68 gene orthologs have been reported in the mouse, rat, bovine, frog and chimpanzee species.
*HuBMAP Human Reference Atlas v1.4