Epithelial Marker Antigen Antibody / MUC1 / Mucin-1

This Epithelial Membrane Antigen / EMA antibody, also called MUC1 and Mucin-1, recognizes the full-length protein in a glycosylation-independent manner and can bind to the fully glycosylated protein. The dominant epitope of this mAb is APDTR in the VNTR region. It reacts with the core peptide of the EMA protein, which is a member of a family of mucin glycoproteins that are characterized by high carbohydrate content, O-linked oligosaccharides, high molecular weight (>200kDa) and an amino acid composition rich in serine, threonine, proline and glycine. The core protein contains a domain of 20 amino-acid tandem repeats that functions as multiple epitopes for the mAb. Incomplete glycosylation of some tumor-associated mucins may lead to variable unmasking of the multiple peptide epitopes leading to the observed differences in staining intensity between normal and malignant tissues. This EMA antibody reacts with both normal and malignant epithelia of various tissues including breast and colon.