About Angiopoietin-2
This gene belongs to the angiopoietin family of growth factors. The protein encoded by this gene is an antagonist of angiopoietin 1, and both angiopoietin 1 and angiopoietin 2 are ligands for the endothelial TEK receptor tyrosine kinase. Angiopoietin 2 is upregulated in multiple inflammatory diseases and is implicated in the direct control of inflammation-related signaling pathways. The encoded protein affects angiogenesis during embryogenesis and tumorigenesis, disrupts the vascular remodeling ability of angiopoietin 1, and may induce endothelial cell apoptosis. This gene serves a prognostic biomarker for acute respiratory distress syndrome. [provided by RefSeq, Aug 2020]

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.