About CD8a
The CD8 antigen is a cell surface glycoprotein found on most cytotoxic T lymphocytes that mediates efficient cell-cell interactions within the immune system. The CD8 antigen acts as a coreceptor with the T-cell receptor on the T lymphocyte to recognize antigens displayed by an antigen presenting cell in the context of class I MHC molecules. The coreceptor functions as either a homodimer composed of two alpha chains or as a heterodimer composed of one alpha and one beta chain. Both alpha and beta chains share significant homology to immunoglobulin variable light chains. This gene encodes the CD8 alpha chain. Multiple transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene. The major protein isoforms of this gene differ by the presence or absence of a transmembrane domain and thus differ in being a membrane-anchored or secreted protein. [provided by RefSeq, May 2020]

About Spark Blue 550
Spark Blue™ 550 from Biolegend is a fluorophore designed for spectral flow cytometry with an excitation peak at 516 nm and an emission peak at 540 nm. This fluorophore is an alternative to Alexa Fluor™ 532 and can be efficiently excited by the 488 nm laser and can be unmixed from FITC and PE.