BD Transduction Laboratories™ Purified Mouse Anti-Mouse Thrombospondin-2

Cell adhesion interactions involve large extracellular glycoproteins such as fibronectin, laminins, and thrombospondins.  The thrombospondins (TSPs), a small family of secreted glycoproteins, can be separated into two subfamilies based on structural similarity.  TSP-1 and TSP-2 are homotrimers of monomeric 145 kDa chains, while TSP-3,4 and 5 are homopentamers of lower MW chains.  TSP-1 and TSP-2 interact with several of the same cell surface receptors and have been termed matricellular proteins.  However, the functional roles of TSP-1 and TSP-2 are poorly understood.  Study of TSP-2 deficient mice has shed some light on the functional role of this protein.  Although these mice appear normal, they in fact exhibit a wide variety of irregularities.  These include abnormal collagen fiber development which results in fragile skin and highly flexible tendons and ligaments.  They also exhibit increased cortical thickness in long bones and abnormal bleeding time.  These results, together with the developmental expression pattern of TSP-2, suggest that it functions as a modulator of the cell surface properties of mesenchymal cells which, in turn, affects cell functions such as adhesion and migration.

This antibody is routinely tested by western blot analysis. Otehr applications were tested at BD Biosciences Pharmingen during antibody development only or reported in the literature.