Anti-Hu CD3, OKT3, AZ, 25tests

STEMCELL Technologies offers the Anti-Human CD3 Antibody, Clone OKT3, conjugated to APC (Allophycocyanin). This mouse monoclonal IgG2a, kappa antibody reacts with an extracellular conformational epitope on the ~20 kDa CD3ε subunit of the human T cell receptor (TCR)/CD3 complex. The target is expressed on the surface of ~95% of mature T cells and NKT cells, and variably on thymocytes, and a majority of T cell neoplasms also express CD3. The antibody is verified for flow cytometry and recognizes an epitope that is expressed when the CD3ε subunit associates with either CD3γ or CD3δ; binding of the antibody can induce T cell activation. Clone OKT3 is widely used for phenotyping human T cells and has been observed to block the binding of anti-CD3 antibody clones SK7 and UCHT1.

The antibody was raised in a mouse (CAF1) host using sheep erythrocyte rosette-purified human T cells as the immunogen, purified by affinity chromatography, and conjugated with APC under optimal conditions, with the solution free of unconjugated APC. It is formulated in phosphate-buffered saline (pH 7.2) containing 0.09% sodium azide, 0.1% gelatin, and < 0.2% (w/v) bovine serum albumin. The product is stable at 2 - 8 °C when stored undiluted; it should not be frozen and should be protected from prolonged exposure to light.

Alternative names for the target include CD3 epsilon, CD3ε, Leu-4, and T3 (Gene ID: 916). CD3 functions in transducing antigen recognition signals into the cytoplasm of T cells and in regulating T cell activation and TCR expression on the cell surface. Because of its immunosuppressive properties in vivo, the OKT3 antibody has proven useful in treating allograft rejection, and mutations in CD3 have been associated with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID).