This monoclonal antibody (clone 17A2) reacts with the mouse cluster of differentiation 3 (CD3) complex, which consists of epsilon, gamma, delta, and zeta polypeptide chains. CD3 is a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily and is primarily expressed on T cells, NK-T cells, and at different levels on thymocytes during T cell differentiation. CD3 protein chains assemble with chains of T cell receptor (TCR) and together they form the TCR-CD3 complex. Use this recombinant monoclonal antibody in applications requiring detection of CD3, such as flow cytometry (FC) and the unconjugated antibody in Immunoprecipitation (IP) and FC.
TCR-CD3 complex plays an important role in coupling antigen recognition to several intracellular signal-transduction pathways. This complex is critical for T cell development and function, and it represents one of the most complex transmembrane receptors. Blocking studies using a CD3E-targeting antibody suggests that the 17A2 clone of CD3 antibody recognizes an epitope on the epsilon chain of the CD3 complex. The 17A2 antibody clone is widely used as a phenotypic marker for mouse T cells. In addition, as the CD3E chain within the TCR-CD3 complex contains intracellular signaling domains, binding of the 17A2 antibody clone to CD3 can induce cell activation.