Anti-Human Nestin Antibody

The 10C2 antibody reacts with human nestin, a class VI intermediate filament (IF) protein expressed by embryonic neuroepithelial stem cells in the developing nervous system and by pancreatic islet and mesenchymal progenitor cells. Nestin expression is also observed in glioblastomas and many primary and metastatic melanomas and it is a useful angiogenic marker to evaluate neovascularity of endothelial cells in tumors. Nestin is required for the survival and renewal of neural progenitor cells and plays roles in cellular remodeling by forming heterodimers with vimentin or alpha-internexin, a process that appears to be tightly regulated by phosphorylation. Nestin localizes to the growth cones during axon elongation in differentiating neurons and may play a role in growth cone guidance. Nestin expression is down-regulated during differentiation, typically disappearing by embryonic stage E18. The 10C2 antibody reportedly cross-reacts weakly with monkey nestin but not rodent nestin. A doublet band of ~220 - 250 kDa is observed on western blots with this antibody.