About MATK
The protein encoded by this gene has amino acid sequence similarity to Csk tyrosine kinase and has the structural features of the CSK subfamily: SRC homology SH2 and SH3 domains, a catalytic domain, a unique N terminus, lack of myristylation signals, lack of a negative regulatory phosphorylation site, and lack of an autophosphorylation site. This protein is thought to play a significant role in the signal transduction of hematopoietic cells. It is able to phosphorylate and inactivate Src family kinases, and may play an inhibitory role in the control of T-cell proliferation. This protein might be involved in signaling in some cases of breast cancer. Three alternatively spliced transcript variants that encode different isoforms have been described 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.