About WAVE1
The protein encoded by this gene, a member of the Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (WASP)-family, plays a critical role downstream of Rac, a Rho-family small GTPase, in regulating the actin cytoskeleton required for membrane ruffling. It has been shown to associate with an actin nucleation core Arp2/3 complex while enhancing actin polymerization in vitro. Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome is a disease of the immune system, likely due to defects in regulation of actin cytoskeleton. Multiple alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding the same protein 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.