M5 and M6 CytoKERATIN 18 antibodies

(Prod. No. 10600/ 10650)

Background

In eukaryotic cells, the cytoskeleton is composed of three different types of morphologically distinct filamentous structures: microfilaments, intermediate filaments (IF), and microtubules.
The epithelial cytokeratins (IF types I and II) are conserved phylogenetically and are closely related, biochemically and imunologically.
Cytokeratins 1-8 constitute the type II group (53-68 kDa, neutral to basic protein components), while cytokeratins 9-20 constitute the type I group (40-56 kDa, acidic proteins).

Upon release from dying cells, cytokeratins provide useful markers for epithelial malignancies, distinctly reflecting ongoing cellular turnover. Certain cytokeratins, the most prominent example being Cytokeratin-18, are substrates for lethal caspase activation and the subsequent release of defined protein fragments occurs during apoptotic cell death.
The clinical value of determining different soluble cytokeratin protein fragments in blood samples (i.e. using the M30 Apoptosense® ELISA or M65® ELISA) lies in the rapid and non-invasive assessment of drug efficacy or response to therapy in epithelial cell carcinomas.

M6 (Upper and center panel) Frozen sections from human prostate tissue show confined staining for CK18 in epithelial cells using M6 CytoKERATIN; secondary detection with anti mouse IgG ALEXA 488 and nuclear counterstain with DAPI. M5 (Lower panel) Formalin fixed and paraffin embedded section from a human prostate tissue shows confined epithelial staining for CK18 with M5 CytoKERATIN; secondary detection with anti mouse IgG biotin, streptavidin POD and DAB as substrate.