Anti-PCDHA2 Antibody Picoband®

Protocadherin alpha-2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the PCDHA2 gene. This gene is a member of the protocadherin alpha gene cluster, one of three related gene clusters tandemly linked on chromosome five that demonstrate an unusual genomic organization similar to that of B-cell and T-cell receptor gene clusters. The alpha gene cluster is composed of 15 cadherin superfamily genes related to the mouse CNR genes and consists of 13 highly similar and 2 more distantly related coding sequences. The tandem array of 15 N-terminal exons, or variable exons, are followed by downstream C-terminal exons, or constant exons, which are shared by all genes in the cluster. The large, uninterrupted N-terminal exons each encode six cadherin ectodomains while the C-terminal exons encode the cytoplasmic domain. These neural cadherin-like cell adhesion proteins are integral plasma membrane proteins that most likely play a critical role in the establishment and function of specific cell-cell connections in the brain. Alternative splicing has been observed and additional variants have been suggested but their full-length nature has yet to be determined.

1. Ribich, S., Tasic, B., Maniatis, T. Identification of long-range regulatory elements in the protocadherin-alpha gene cluster. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 103: 19719-19724, 2006. 2. Wu, Q., Maniatis, T. A striking organization of a large family of human neural cadherin-like cell adhesion genes. Cell 97: 779-790, 1999. 3. Wu, Q., Zhang, T., Cheng, J.-F., Kim, Y., Grimwood, J., Schmutz, J., Dickson, M., Noonan, J. P., Zhang, M. Q., Myers, R. M., Maniatis, T. Comparative DNA sequence analysis of mouse and human protocadherin gene clusters. Genome Res. 11: 389-404, 2001.

At -20°C for one year from date of receipt. After reconstitution, at 4°C for one month. It can also be aliquotted and stored frozen at -20°C for six months. Avoid repeated freezing and thawing.