About Somatostatin R3
This gene encodes a member of the somatostatin receptor protein family. Somatostatins are peptide hormones that regulate diverse cellular functions such as neurotransmission, cell proliferation, and endocrine signaling as well as inhibiting the release of many hormones and other secretory proteins. Somatostatin has two active forms of 14 and 28 amino acids. The biological effects of somatostatins are mediated by a family of G-protein coupled somatostatin receptors that are expressed in a tissue-specific manner. Somatostatin receptors form homodimers and heterodimers with other members of the superfamily as well as with other G-protein coupled receptors and receptor tyrosine kinases. This protein is functionally coupled to adenylyl cyclase. Alternate splicing results in multiple transcript variants. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 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.