Laminin 511 antibody [12D]

Laminins, which consist of three subunits called alpha, beta and gamma chains, are major cell-adhesive components of extracellular matrix, especially basement membranes (BMs). The laminin family is constituted of over 15 isoforms, and each member is expressed in a tissue-specific manner and plays a differential role in each tissue. Laminin-511 (Lm511) (formerly laminin-10), which consists of alpha 5, beta 1 and gamma 1 chains, appears at an early stage of development and is most widely expressed in adult tissues, mainly basement membranes of various epithelial tissues and vasculatures. Recently, laminin-511 is often used as a culture substrate for ES and iPS cells.This antibody specifically interacts with the trimeric structure of laminin-511 isoform but does not react with any of the alpha 5, beta 1 and gamma 1 chains in the reducing conditions. Furthermore, it has been validated that clone 12D does not react with any of laminins-111, -211, -332, -3B32, -411 and -521. Unlike conventional anti- alpha 5 antibodies, clone 12D distinguishes laminin-511 from laminin-521. This is an important tool to evaluate specific distribution and physiological functions of laminin-511. In human cancers, clone 12D detects small vascular vessels with high sensitivity and hence useful for evaluating tumor angiogenesis.