Anti-Pan Cytokeratin (Clone AE1/AE3) - Purified No Carrier Protein (P461-GRP)

Keratins belong to the highly conserved intermediate filament family 1 of water insoluble proteins that form tonofilaments in epidermis and most other epithelia 2. More than 20 cytokeratins have been identified, and they are divided into two polypeptide types: acidic (type I) and basic (type II) 1,3. Cytokeratins are important to epithelial structural integrity and are involved in motility, signaling, growth, and protein synthesis 3. Cytokeratins are also useful markers for epithelial malignancies 1,3. Monoclonal antibodies AE1 and AE3 were generated by immunizing BALB/c mice with total keratin isolated from human epidermal callus 2. Spleen cells were fused with mouse myeloma cell line P3x63Ag8 to produce hybridomas which were screened for anti-keratin activity by ELISA. Subsequent immunofluorescence staining showed binding to keratin-type intermediate filaments, with AE1 reacting predominantly with epidermal basal cells and AE3 with the entire epidermis (whole layers) 2,4. Additionally, Western blotting showed AE1 reacts with 48-, 50- and 56-kDa keratins and AE3 reacts with numerous 58- to 67-kDa keratins 2. AE1/AE3 has been used extensively as a pan-cytokeratin cocktail in the pathology setting as well as in multiple species for the study of cellular differentiation. For example, AE1/AE3 stains neoplastic lesions in humans 5,6,7,8 as well as ameloblasts in monkeys 9, some mammary epithelial cells in mouse 10, myoepithelial cells in guinea pig 10, the epithelium of normal canine eyes 11, and can be used to study skin graft in cat 12.