Catalogue CPCA-Vim: Chicken Polyclonal Antibody to Vimentin-VIM
The Immunogen: Vimentin is the major protein subunit of the 10nm or intermediate filaments protein
found in many kinds of mesenchymal cells, and was first named and characterized in a collaborative study from the labs of German scientists Werner Franke and Klaus Weber (1). The name derives from the Latin "Vimentum", meaning arrays of flexible rods such as in lattices, filigrees and wicker-work, which describes the intermediate filament network quite well. Vimentin is also found in many cell types in tissue culture, most notably fibroblasts, and in developing neuronal and astrocytic precursor
cells in the central nervous system. Many cell lines such as Hek293, HeLa, 3T3 and Cos cells contain prominent vimentin networks. Vimentin frequently forms copolymers
with other intermediate filament proteins, such as GFAP (in astrocytes, ependymal cells and neural stem cells), with desmin (in muscle and endothelial cells) and neurofilament proteins
(in developing neurons). A E151K point mutation in the vimentin gene was shown to be causative of an autosomal dominant pulverulent cataract disease, but so far only in a single patient (2). Vimentin is a major protein of eye lens and cornea, and this mutation renders the molecule unable assemble into normal 10nm filaments. Antibodies to vimentin are useful in studies
of stem cells and generally to reveal the filamentous cytoskeleton. The
immunogen used to generate our antibody was recombinant human vimentin expressed in and purified
from E. coli. The same immunogen was used to produce our two monoclonal antibodies to vimentin MCA-2A52 and MCA-2D1. The HGNC name for this protein is VIM.
Left: Western blot of crude extract of human embryonic kidney Hek293 cells stained with CPCA-Vim, showing a single strong clean band at ~50kDa. Right: View of mixed neuron/glial cultures stained with CPCA-Vim (green) and EnCors rabbit antibody to GFAP antibody, RPCA-GFAP, (in red). Vimentin is the sole cytoplasmic intermediate filament subunit expressed in fibroblastic, microglial and endothelial cells. The flattened cells in the middle of the image which appear green are fibroblasts. Astrocytes may express primarily GFAP, or a mix of GFAP and vimentin, and so appear red (GFAP only) or golden yellow (GFAP and Vimentin). In cells which express both GFAP and vimentin, the two protein assemble to produce heteropolymer filaments.
Antibody Characteristics: This antibody was generated in chicken by standard procedures and immunoglobulin was extracted from egg yolk. The resulting polyclonal antibody belongs to the IgY subclass. This is the chicken homologue of mammalian IgG and can be used in the same general way, with the caveat that this type of antibody does not bind either Protein A or Protein G. Suitable second antibody reagents can be obtained from many vendors including Molecular Probes and Sigma-Aldrich. Store at 4°C or -20°C. Avoid repeat freezing and thawing.
Suggestions for use: The IgY preparation has a concentration of ~20mg/ml. The titre of this material is about 1:5,000 in immunofluorescence microscopy.
Omim link: press here
Examples: For some other on line images generated with this antibody check here
References:
1. Franke, W. W., Schmid, E., Osborn, M. and Weber, K. Different intermediate-sized filaments distinguished by immunofluorescence microscopy. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 75:5034–5038 (1978).
2. Muller, M., Bhattacharya, S. S., Moore, T., Prescott, Q., Wedig, T., Herrmann, H., Magin, T. M. Dominant cataract formation in association with a vimentin assembly disrupting mutation. Hum. Molec. Genet. 18:1052-1057 (2009).
Price and Availability: - We currently supply 100 microliter aliquots for $200. Material is in stock and ready for immediate shipping.
Limitations: This product is for research use only and is not approved for use in humans or in clinical diagnosis.
Use of Images or Text: The contents of this page are available for modification and reuse under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License 3.0 and the GNU Free Documentation License, unversioned with no invariant sections, front-cover texts, or back-cover texts. These licences permit modification and reuse, even commercially, as long as authorship credit and a link to this page is given.
©EnCor Biotechnology Inc. .