Anti-Integrin α6 Antibody

This rabbit polyclonal primary antibody from Antibodies.com specifically recognizes Integrin α6 (CD49f), a transmembrane glycoprotein that heterodimerizes with integrin β1 or β4 subunits to form high-affinity laminin receptors on the cell surface. The unconjugated reagent is supplied as a 100 µl liquid aliquot and is validated for western blot detection across human, mouse, and rat samples, as well as for ELISA workflows.

Integrin α6 functions as a critical cell-matrix adhesion molecule and is widely used as a surface marker to identify and isolate pluripotent stem cell populations, including human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells, where its co-expression with markers such as SSEA-3, SSEA-4, TRA-1-60, and TRA-1-81 defines the undifferentiated compartment. In epithelial biology, the α6β4 complex anchors basal keratinocytes to the basement membrane through hemidesmosomal connections, and disruption of this interaction has been linked to blistering skin disorders and to invasive carcinoma progression.

Researchers working on cancer stem cell biology in breast carcinoma, glioblastoma, and squamous cell carcinoma models use α6 immunolabeling to prospectively isolate tumor-initiating subsets from heterogeneous tumor populations. The polyclonal format offers multi-epitope recognition, which can be advantageous for detecting splice variants or post-translationally modified forms that a monoclonal reagent might miss. For western blot, separation under reducing SDS-PAGE conditions followed by transfer to PVDF or nitrocellulose and chemiluminescent or fluorescent secondary detection is standard. Aliquot the antibody upon arrival, store refrigerated at 4°C, and avoid repeated freeze-thaw cycles to preserve binding activity across long-running studies.