About Haptoglobin
This gene encodes a preproprotein, which is processed to yield both alpha and beta chains, which subsequently combine as a tetramer to produce haptoglobin. Haptoglobin functions to bind free plasma hemoglobin, which allows degradative enzymes to gain access to the hemoglobin, while at the same time preventing loss of iron through the kidneys and protecting the kidneys from damage by hemoglobin. Mutations in this gene and/or its regulatory regions cause ahaptoglobinemia or hypohaptoglobinemia. This gene has also been linked to diabetic nephropathy, the incidence of coronary artery disease in type 1 diabetes, Crohn's disease, inflammatory disease behavior, primary sclerosing cholangitis, susceptibility to idiopathic Parkinson's disease, and a reduced incidence of Plasmodium falciparum malaria. The protein encoded also exhibits antimicrobial activity against bacteria. A similar duplicated gene is located next to this gene on chromosome 16. Multiple transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Oct 2014]

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.