About CD239
This gene encodes Lutheran blood group glycoprotein, a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily and a receptor for the extracellular matrix protein, laminin. The protein contains five extracellular immunoglobulin domains, a single transmembrane domain, and a short C-terminal cytoplasmic tail. This protein may play a role in epithelial cell cancer and in vaso-occlusion of red blood cells in sickle cell disease. Polymorphisms in this gene define some of the antigens in the Lutheran system and also the Auberger system. Inactivating variants of this gene result in the recessive Lutheran null phenotype, Lu(a-b-), of the Lutheran blood group. Two transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, May 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.