Anti-MUC3 Antibody

MUC3 is distributed in colon and rectum, and is also present to a lesser extent in breast, lung and salivary gland tissues. The Mucins are a family of highly glycosylated, secreted proteins with a basic structure consisting of a variable number of tandem repeats (VNTRs) encoded by 60 base pairs (Mucin 1), 69 base pairs (Mucin 2) and 51 base pairs (Mucin 3) . The number of repeats is highly polymorphic and varies among different alleles. Mucin 1 proteins are expressed as type I membrane proteins in addition to secreted forms. Mucin 1 is aberrantly expressed in epithelial tumors including breast carcinomas. Mucin 2 coats the epithelia of the intestines and airways and is associated with colonic tumors. Mucin 3 is a major component of various mucus gels and is broadly expressed in normal and tumor cells.