About PUMA
This gene encodes a member of the BCL-2 family of proteins. This family member belongs to the BH3-only pro-apoptotic subclass. The protein cooperates with direct activator proteins to induce mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization and apoptosis. It can bind to anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family members to induce mitochondrial dysfunction and caspase activation. Because of its pro-apoptotic role, this gene is a potential drug target for cancer therapy and for tissue injury. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants. [provided by RefSeq, Dec 2011]

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.