About Collagen IV alpha 1
This gene encodes a type IV collagen alpha protein. Type IV collagen proteins are integral components of basement membranes. This gene shares a bidirectional promoter with a paralogous gene on the opposite strand. The protein consists of an amino-terminal 7S domain, a triple-helix forming collagenous domain, and a carboxy-terminal non-collagenous domain. It functions as part of a heterotrimer and interacts with other extracellular matrix components such as perlecans, proteoglycans, and laminins. In addition, proteolytic cleavage of the non-collagenous carboxy-terminal domain results in a biologically active fragment known as arresten, which has anti-angiogenic and tumor suppressor properties. Mutations in this gene cause porencephaly, cerebrovascular disease, and renal and muscular defects. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants. [provided by RefSeq, Dec 2014]

About Alexa Fluor 488
Alexa Fluor™ 488 (AF488, Alexa 488) has an excitation peak at 488 nm and an emission peak at 496 nm, and is considered a high-performance alternative to FITC. Alexa 488 is one of the most popular Alexa Fluor™ dyes and is widely used in Fluorescence Microscopy, flow cytometry, and for staining low expression markers. It is bright, highly photostable, resistant to pH changes, and less susceptible to photobleaching. Alexa 488 and is similar in size, brightness and application to DyLight™ 488, iFluor® 488 and CF®488A.