F4/80 Monoclonal Antibody (BM8), Functional Grade, eBioscience™, Invitrogen™

Description

The BM8 MAb reacts with mouse F4/80 antigen, an approximately 125 kDa transmembrane protein. The F4/80 antigen is expressed by a majority of mature macrophages and is the best marker for this population of cells. However, other cell types such as Langerhans cells and liver Kupffer cells have been reported to express this antigen. Expression of F4/80 commences during early myeloid development and is upregulated on all BM cells stimulated in vitro with M-CSF. It has been shown that some cytokines downregulate the expression of F4/80 resulting in lack of F4/80 antigen on a subpopulation of macrophages, especially in the lymphoid microenvironment in vivo.

F4/80 antigen is a 160 kDa cell surface glycoprotein that is a member of the EGF TM7 family of proteins and shares 68% overall amino acid identity with human EGF module containing mucin like hormone receptor 1 (EMR1). Expression of F4/80 is heterogeneous and is reported to vary during macrophage maturation and activation. The F4/80 antigen is expressed on a wide range of mature tissue macrophages including Kupffer cells, Langerhans, microglia, macrophages located in the gut lamina propria, peritoneal cavity, lung, thymus, bone marrow stroma and macrophages in the red pulp of the spleen. F4/80 expression has also been reported on a subpopulation of dendritic cells but is absent from macrophages located in T cell areas of the spleen and lymph node. The ligands and biological functions of the F4/80 antigen have not yet been determined but recent studies suggest a role for F4/80 in the generation of efferent CD8+ve regulatory T cells.