About Ryk
The protein encoded by this gene is an atypical member of the family of growth factor receptor protein tyrosine kinases, differing from other members at a number of conserved residues in the activation and nucleotide binding domains. This gene product belongs to a subfamily whose members do not appear to be regulated by phosphorylation in the activation segment. It has been suggested that mediation of biological activity by recruitment of a signaling-competent auxiliary protein may occur through an as yet uncharacterized mechanism. The encoded protein has a leucine-rich extracellular domain with a WIF-type Wnt binding region, a single transmembrane domain, and an intracellular tyrosine kinase domain. This protein is involved in stimulating Wnt signaling pathways such as the regulation of axon pathfinding. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants encoding distinct isoforms. [provided by RefSeq, Feb 2012]

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.