BD Pharmingen™ Alexa Fluor® 647 Mouse Anti-Human Bcl-2

The Bcl-2/100 monoclonal antibody specifically binds to human Bcl-2. It has been reported not to crossreact with mouse Bcl-2. A synthetic peptide corresponding to amino acids 41-54 (GAAPAPGIFSSQPG) of human Bcl-2 was used as the immunogen. This peptide sequence reportedly is not conserved between human and mouse. Programmed cell death (apoptosis) is a normal physiologic process which occurs during embryonic development as well as in maintenance of tissue homeostasis. The apoptotic program is characterized by certain morphological features. These include changes in the plasma membrane such as loss of membrane asymmetry and attachment, a condensation of the cytoplasm and nucleus, and internucleosomal cleavage of DNA. In the final stages, the dying cells become fragmented into "apoptotic bodies" which are rapidly eliminated by phagocytic cells without eliciting significant inflammatory damage to surrounding cells. Members of the Bcl-2 family play a major role in regulating the response of cells to apoptotic signals. Bcl-2 is considered to be novel among proto-oncogenes because it blocks apoptosis in many cell types. Bcl-2 is thought to provide selective survival advantage for cells by blocking apoptosis and thus may contribute to tumorigenesis. Bcl-2 is an approximately 26 kDa intracellular, integral membrane protein found primarily in the nuclear envelope, endoplasmic reticulum and outer mitochondrial membrane.