Stella Antibody

Stella Antibody: Stella was initially identified in primordial germ cells and pre-implantation embryos whose expression as a maternal factor is important in early embryonic development but is not required for germ cell specification in mice. In humans, Stella is thought to be a marker for pluripotency in embryonic stem (ES) cells as its expression is observed in primordial germ cells of both sexes and germ cell tumors but not in normal somatic tissues. However, in ES cell colonies, heterogeneous expression of Stella was seen in high throughput in situ hybridization assays, indicating that higher levels of complexity exist in otherwise thought to be undifferentiated ES cells. At least two distinct isoforms of Stella are known to exist.

Stella antibody can be stored at 4˚ C for three months and -20˚ C, stable for up to one year. As with all antibodies care should be taken to avoid repeated freeze thaw cycles. Antibodies should not be exposed to prolonged high temperatures.

Sato M, Kimura T, Kurokawa K, et al. Identification of PGC7, a new gene expressed specifically in preimplatation embryos and germ cells. Mech. Dev.2002; 113:91-4.

Bortvin A, Goodheart M, Liao M, et al. Dppa3/Pgc7/stella is a maternal factor and is not required for germ cell specification in mice. BMC Dev. Biol.2004; 4:2.

Bowles J, Teasdale RP, James K, et al. Dppa3 is a marker of pluripotency and has a human homologue that is expressed in germ cell tumours. Cytogenet. Genome Res.2003; 101:261-5.

Carter MG, Stagg CA, Falco G, et al. An in situ hybridization-based screen for heterogeneously expressed genes in mouse ES cells. Gene Expr. Patterns2008; 8:181-8.