Anti-ABCB5 Monoclonal Antibody

Expressed by CD133-expressing progenitor cells among epidermal melanocytes (at protein level) . Widely expressed with specific expression in pigment cells. Highly expressed in several malignant tissues: highly expressed in clinical melanomas, with low expression in normal skin. In melanoma, marks malignant melanoma-initiating cells (MMIC), in which clinical virulence resides as a consequence of unlimited self-renewal capacity, resulting in inexorable tumor progression and metastasis. Also highly expressed in a number of leukemia cells. Expressed in basal limbal epithelium.

Drug efflux transporter present in a number of stem cells that acts as a regulator of cellular differentiation. Able to mediate efflux from cells of the rhodamine dye and of the therapeutic drug doxorubicin. Specifically present in limbal stem cells, where it plays a key role in corneal development and repair.