About Integrin beta 7
This gene encodes a protein that is a member of the integrin superfamily. Members of this family are adhesion receptors that function in signaling from the extracellular matrix to the cell. Integrins are heterodimeric integral membrane proteins composed of an alpha chain and a beta chain. The encoded protein forms dimers with an alpha4 chain or an alphaE chain and plays a role in leukocyte adhesion. Dimerization with alpha4 forms a homing receptor for migration of lymphocytes to the intestinal mucosa and Peyer's patches. Dimerization with alphaE permits binding to the ligand epithelial cadherin, a calcium-dependent adhesion molecule. Alternate splicing results in multiple transcript variants. Additional alternatively spliced transcript variants of this gene have been described, but their full-length nature is not known. [provided by RefSeq, Sep 2013]

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.