About PTPN12
The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) family. PTPs are signaling molecules that regulate a variety of cellular processes including cell growth, differentiation, mitotic cycle, and oncogenic transformation. This PTP contains a C-terminal PEST motif, which serves as a protein-protein interaction domain, and may regulate protein intracellular half-life. This PTP was found to bind and dephosphorylate the product of the oncogene c-ABL and thus may play a role in oncogenesis. This PTP was also shown to interact with, and dephosphorylate, various products related to cytoskeletal structure and cell adhesion, such as p130 (Cas), CAKbeta/PTK2B, PSTPIP1, and paxillin. This suggests it has a regulatory role in controlling cell shape and mobility. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants encoding distinct isoforms. [provided by RefSeq, Oct 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.