Vimentin Antibodies in Rheumatoid Arthritis & Cataracts Research

Vimentin is a 57kDa type III intermediate filament (IF) protein that is the major cytoskeletal component of mesenchymal cells and the first to be expressed during cell differentiation. It plays a significant role in supporting and anchoring the position of the organelles in the cytosol and its dynamic nature is important for cell flexibility.  It is responsible for maintaining cell shape and cytoplasm integrity.

Vimentin has been implicated in a number of diseases.  It is frequently included in the primary panel of markers in the identification of mesenchymal tumors and malignant melanomas.  Some of the other markers used in that panel are CD45, cytokeratin and S-100 protein.

Antibodies against mutated and citrullinated Vimentin have become the forefront of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) recognition and diagnosis.  RA is a disorder which is difficult to recognize in the early period of disease manifestation.  There are 2 types of serological markers which are used for the diagnosis of RA:  antibodies to the Fc part of human IgG (rheumatoid factor) and antibodies to citrullinated protein/peptide antigens.  Antibodies against citrullinated Vimentin provide high specificity for the diagnosis of RA and have now been developed into a novel and rapid test system (American College of Rheumatology, 2008 Annual Scientific Meeting).

Vimentin has also been shown to play a key role in maintaining eye lens integrity.  A mutation, G596A substitution on exon 1, has been shown to cause an assembly defect in Vimentin which lead to cause cataract in the human patient.  The mutated vimentin formed an abnormal Vimentin cytoskeleton and caused an increase in the proteasome activity of transfected cells (Muller et al, 2009. Human Molecular Genetics).

Taken in summary, Vimentin and its implications in disease invite novel therapy approaches in the areas of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and cataracts.

Novus Biologicals offers Vimentin reagents for your research needs including:

• Vimentin primary antibodies
• Vimentin lysates
• Vimentin peptides and proteins
• Vimentin antibody pairs
• Vimentin RNAi
• Vimentin ELISA kits