About RPSA
Laminins, a family of extracellular matrix glycoproteins, are the major noncollagenous constituent of basement membranes. They have been implicated in a wide variety of biological processes including cell adhesion, differentiation, migration, signaling, neurite outgrowth and metastasis. Many of the effects of laminin are mediated through interactions with cell surface receptors. These receptors include members of the integrin family, as well as non-integrin laminin-binding proteins. This gene encodes a high-affinity, non-integrin family, laminin receptor 1. This receptor has been variously called 67 kD laminin receptor, 37 kD laminin receptor precursor (37LRP) and p40 ribosome-associated protein. The amino acid sequence of laminin receptor 1 is highly conserved through evolution, suggesting a key biological function. It has been observed that the level of the laminin receptor transcript is higher in colon carcinoma tissue and lung cancer cell line than their normal counterparts. Also, there is a correlation between the upregulation of this polypeptide in cancer cells and their invasive and metastatic phenotype. Multiple copies of this gene exist, however, most of them are pseudogenes thought to have arisen from retropositional events. Two 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.