CD48 Long Isoform (human, recombinant)

CD48 is a glycoprotein and member of the signaling lymphocyte activation marker (SLAM) family that has diverse roles in innate and adaptive immunity.¹ Alternative splicing of CD48 pre-mRNA produces one full-length isoform, CD48 long, and a short isoform, in humans.¹ CD48 long is comprised of an extracellular N-terminal immunoglobulin (Ig) variable-like (IgV) domain that mediates heterophilic interactions, an Ig constant 2-like 2 (IgC2) domain, and a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor that localizes CD48 to the cell membrane and facilitates intracellular signaling.^1,2 It is constitutively expressed on most human hematopoietic cells, including monocytes, neutrophils, and lymphocytes, and is localized to lipid rafts.¹ CD48 is upregulated by inflammatory conditions, including cytokine stimulation, as well as bacterial or viral infection.¹ It binds the co-stimulatory molecule CD2 on T cells and natural killer (NK) cells to promote immune synapse formation and T cell receptor signaling, as well as the bacterial lectin FimH, to enhance pathogen clearance. CD48 also binds CD244 on NK cells and certain subsets of T cells, regulating the activation and cytolytic function of these cells. CD48 levels are increased on plasma cells isolated from patients with multiple myeloma, and neutralization of CD48 with a monoclonal antibody reduces tumor growth in an OPM-2 mouse xenograft model.³ It is also increased on blood eosinophils in patients with atopic asthma.¹ Cayman's CD48 Long Isoform (human, recombinant) protein can be used for binding assay applications. This protein consists of 205 amino acids, has a calculated molecular weight of 23.8 kDa, and a predicted N-terminus of Gln27 after signal peptide cleavage. By SDS-PAGE, under reducing conditions, the apparent molecular mass of the protein is approximately 40 kDa due to glycosylation.

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1. McArdel, S.L., Terhorst, C., and Sharpe, A.H. Roles of CD48 in regulating immunity and tolerance. Clin. Immunol. 164, 10-20 (2016).

2. Chattopadhyay, K., Lazar-Molnar, E., Yan, Q., et al. Sequence, structure, function, immunity: Structural genomics of costimulation. Immunol. Rev. 229(1), 356-386 (2009).

3. Hosen, N., Ichihara, H., Mugitani, A., et al. CD48 as a novel molecular target for antibody therapy in multiple myeloma. Br. J. Haematol. 156(2), 213-224 (2012).