Anti-CD8 Alpha CD8A Antibody

CD8 on thymus-derived T-cells usually consists of a disulfide-linked alpha/CD8A and a beta/CD8B chain. Less frequently, CD8 can be expressed as a CD8A homodimer. A subset of natural killer cells, memory T-cells, intraepithelial lymphocytes, monocytes and dendritic cells expresses CD8A homo-dimers. Expressed at the cell surface of plasmacytoid dendritic cells upon herpes simplex virus-1 stimulation.

Integral membrane glycoprotein that plays an essential role in the immune response and serves multiple functions in responses against both external and internal offenses. In T-cells, functions primarily as a coreceptor for MHC class I molecule:peptide complex. The antigens presented by class I peptides are derived from cytosolic proteins while class II derived from extracellular proteins. Interacts simultaneously with the T-cell receptor (TCR) and the MHC class I proteins presented by antigen presenting cells (APCs) . In turn, recruits the Src kinase LCK to the vicinity of the TCR-CD3 complex. LCK then initiates different intracellular signaling pathways by phosphorylating various substrates ultimately leading to lymphokine production, motility, adhesion and activation of cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs) . This mechanism enables CTLs to recognize and eliminate infected cells and tumor cells. In NK- cells, the presence of CD8A homodimers at the cell surface provides a survival mechanism allowing conjugation and lysis of multiple target cells. CD8A homodimer molecules also promote the survival and differentiation of activated lymphocytes into memory CD8 T-cells.