CD96 (E1Y2Z) Rabbit mAb #66102

Cluster of Differentiation 96 (CD96), also known as T cell-activated increased late expression protein (TACTILE), is a heavily glycosylated type I transmembrane protein belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily (1-3). CD96 is expressed on peripheral T cells and natural killer (NK) cells, and is strongly upregulated on these cell types after activation (1,4). It is also expressed on transformed T cells, and at very low levels on activated B cells (1,5,6). CD96 interacts with the receptor ligand PVR (CD155), and is involved in adhesion of activated T and NK cells to target cells during the late phase of the immune response (2,4). CD96 competes with DNAM-1 (CD226) for binding to PVR (CD155) in order to negatively regulate T and NK cell activity, and thus blockade of CD96 in order to induce anti-tumor immune responses is investigated for potential immunotherapeutic intervention in cancer (7-9). Alternative splicing occurs at this locus, and two transcript variants encoding distinct isoforms with variable functions have been identified (1,10).