About Cyclin A1
The protein encoded by this gene belongs to the highly conserved cyclin family, whose members are characterized by a dramatic periodicity in protein abundance through the cell cycle. Cyclins function as regulators of CDK kinases. Different cyclins exhibit distinct expression and degradation patterns which contribute to the temporal coordination of each mitotic event. The cyclin encoded by this gene was shown to be expressed in testis and brain, as well as in several leukemic cell lines, and is thought to primarily function in the control of the germline meiotic cell cycle. This cyclin binds both CDK2 and CDC2 kinases, which give two distinct kinase activities, one appearing in S phase, the other in G2, and thus regulate separate functions in cell cycle. This cyclin was found to bind to important cell cycle regulators, such as Rb family proteins, transcription factor E2F-1, and the p21 family proteins. Multiple transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]

About FITC
Fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) has an excitation peak at 495 nm and an emission peak at 519 nm. The name FITC is a misnomer in that the isothiocyanate is a reactive form of this dye. Once FITC is conjugated to an antibody, it is simply Fluorescein conjugated. FITC is one of the most widely used dyes for fluorescent applications, therefore most instruments come standard with a 488 nm laser and FITC filter set up. FITC is commonly conjugated to secondary antibodies and used in applications such as flow cytometry, immunocytochemistry, and immunohistochemistry. FITC is relatively dim, sensitive to photobleaching and it is susceptible to changes is pH. There are better performing alternatives to FITC, like Vio®Bright 515, Alexa Fluor™ 488, iFluor® 488, CF®488A and DY-488. FITC is a long-time generic dye with no sole manufacturer or trademark.