About Neuropilin-1
This gene encodes one of two neuropilins, which contain specific protein domains which allow them to participate in several different types of signaling pathways that control cell migration. Neuropilins contain a large N-terminal extracellular domain, made up of complement-binding, coagulation factor V/VIII, and meprin domains. These proteins also contains a short membrane-spanning domain and a small cytoplasmic domain. Neuropilins bind many ligands and various types of co-receptors; they affect cell survival, migration, and attraction. Some of the ligands and co-receptors bound by neuropilins are vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and semaphorin family members. Several alternatively spliced transcript variants that encode different protein isoforms have been described for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Oct 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.