CD146/MCAM Polyclonal Antibody

CD146, also known as melanoma cell adhesion molecule (MCAM) or MUC18, originally identified as a biomarker of melanoma progression, is a transmembrane glycoprotein of 113-130 kDa, belonging to the immunoglobulin (Ig) superfamily. Structurally, it consists of five Ig domains, a transmembrane domain, and a cytoplasmic region. In normal adult tissue, CD146 is primarily expressed by vascular endothelium and smooth muscle. CD146 is a key cell adhesion protein in vascular endothelial cell activity and angiogenesis, and has been used as marker of circulating endothelium cells (CECs) . In addition to the membrane-anchored form of CD146, a soluble form of CD146 (sCD146,105 kDa) has also been found in human plasma and in the supernatant of cultured human endothelial cells. This antibody detects a band at approximately 120 kDa that corresponds to the molecular weight of glycosylated CD146. Treatment of lysates of HepG2 cells and L02 cells with PNGase F, which removes oligosaccharides from N-linked glycoproteins, led to a down-shift of the detected band.