Vimentin is a fundamental 10 nm type III intermediate filament (IF) protein found in many mesenchymal and epithelia tissues, tissue culture cells, and developing neuronal and astrocytic precursor cells of the central nervous system. It frequently co-polymerizes and forms heteropolymer filaments with other IF proteins such as GFAP (in astrocytes), desmin (in muscle cells) and neurofilament proteins (in developing neurons). Vimentin antibodies were used in human mammary epithelial cell studies to show that vimentin mediates cell migration within classic in vitro wound-healing models (1). Comparative expression data indicates that vimentin expression correlates with transformed cells with highly invasive capability (2).
Ponzu’s lab used vimentin antibodies in immunohistochemistry to confirm that their Met-induced mammary tumors had classic epithelial to mesenchymal transition signatures (3), while Singh’s group employed vimentin antibodies in expression studies to verify IF overexpression profiles in metabolically glutamine-independent breast cancer cell line variants (4). Interestingly, several researchers are generating comprehensive molecular profile studies piloting the use of citrullinated vimentin antibodies in an attempt to assess the feasibility of using anticitrullinated peptide/protein antibody diagnostic immunoassays to sort and identify subsets among rheumatoid arthritis patients (5,6).
Novus Biologicals offers vimentin reagents for your research needs including:
