Anti-Mouse CD8a, Purified conjugated, clone 53-6.7

CD8, also known as Lyt-2, Ly-2, or T8, consists of disulfide-linked alpha and beta chains that form the alpha(CD8a)/beta(CD8b) heterodimer and alpha/alpha homodimer. CD8a is a 34 kD protein that belongs to the immunoglobulin family. The CD8 alpha/beta heterodimer is expressed on the surface of most thymocytes and a subset of mature TCR alpha/beta T cells. CD8 expression on mature T cells is non-overlapping with CD4. The CD8 alpha/alpha homodimer is expressed on a subset of gamma/delta TCR-bearing T cells, NK cells, intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes, and lymphoid dendritic cells. CD8 is an antigen co-receptor on T cells that interacts with MHC class I on antigen-presenting cells or epithelial cells. CD8 promotes T cell activation through its association with the TCR complex and protein tyrosine kinase lck. Protein function: Integral membrane glycoprotein that plays an essential role in the immune response and serves multiple functions in responses against both external and internal offenses. In T-cells, functions primarily as a coreceptor for MHC class I molecule:peptide complex. The antigens presented by class I peptides are derived from cytosolic proteins while class II derived from extracellular proteins. Interacts simultaneously with the T-cell receptor (TCR) and the MHC class I proteins presented by antigen presenting cells (APCs). In turn, recruits the Src kinase LCK to the vicinity of the TCR-CD3 complex. LCK then initiates different intracellular signaling pathways by phosphorylating various substrates ultimately leading to lymphokine production, motility, adhesion and activation of cytotoxic T- lymphocytes (CTLs). This mechanism enables CTLs to recognize and eliminate infected cells and tumor cells. In NK-cells, the presence of CD8A homodimers at the cell surface provides a survival mechanism allowing conjugation and lysis of multiple target cells. CD8A homodimer molecules also promote the survival and differentiation of activated lymphocytes into memory CD8 T-cells. [The UniProt Consortium]