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A recommended positive control tissue for this product is Hepatocellular Carcinoma, however positive controls are not limited to this tissue type.
The primary antibody is intended for laboratory professional use in the detection of the corresponding protein in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue stained in manual qualitative immunohistochemistry (IHC) testing. This antibody is intended to be used after the primary diagnosis of tumor has been made by conventional histopathology using non-immunological histochemical stains.
It recognizes an oncofetal glycoprotein with a single chain of 70 kDa, which is identified as alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) (ISOBM TD-2 workshop). This MAb is highly specific to AFP and shows no cross-reaction with other oncofetal antigens or serum albumin. AFP is normally synthesized in the liver, intestinal tract, and yolk sac of the fetus. Antibody to AFP has been shown to be useful in detecting hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) and germ cell neoplasms, especially yolk sac tumors.
Antibody is used with formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded sections. Pretreatment of deparaffinized tissue with heat-induced epitope retrieval or enzymatic retrieval is recommended. In general, immunohistochemical (IHC) staining techniques allow for the visualization of antigens via the sequential application of a specific antibody to the antigen (primary antibody), a secondary antibody to the primary antibody (link antibody), an enzyme complex and a chromogenic substrate with interposed washing steps. The enzymatic activation of the chromogen results in a visible reaction product at the antigen site. Results are interpreted using a light microscope and aid in the differential diagnosis of pathophysiological processes, which may or may not be associated with a particular antigen.
A positive tissue control must be run with every staining procedure performed. This tissue may contain both positive and negative staining cells or tissue components and serve as both the positive and negative control tissue. External Positive control materials should be fresh autopsy/biopsy/surgical specimens fixed, processed and embedded as soon as possible in the same manner as the patient sample (s). Positive tissue controls are indicative of correctly prepared tissues and proper staining methods. The tissues used for the external positive control materials should be selected from the patient specimens with well-characterized low levels of the positive target activity that gives weak positive staining. The low level of positivity for external positive controls is designed to ensure detection of subtle changes in the primary antibody sensitivity from instability or problems with the staining methodology. A tissue with weak positive staining is more suitable for optimal quality control and for detecting minor levels of reagent degradation.
Internal or external negative control tissue may be used depending on the guidelines and policies that govern the organization to which the end user belongs to. The variety of cell types present in many tissue sections offers internal negative control sites, but this should be verified by the user. The components that do not stain should demonstrate the absence of specific staining, and provide an indication of non-specific background staining. If specific staining occurs in the negative tissue control sites, results with the patient specimens must be considered invalid.
AFP (Alpha Fetoprotein) is a major plasma protein produced by the yolk sac, intestinal tract and the liver during fetal life. AFP expression in adults is often associated with hepatoma or teratoma. However, hereditary persistence of AFP may also be found in individuals with no obvious pathology. The protein is thought to be the fetal counterpart of serum albumin, and AFP and albumin genes are present in tandem in the same transcriptional orientation on chromosome 4. AFP is found in monomeric, dimeric, and trimeric forms. AFP can also bind to copper ions, nickel ions, fatty acids and bilirubin. The level of AFP in amniotic fluid is used to measure renal loss of protein to screen for spina bifida and anencephaly. High level of serum AFP has been identified in patients with hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC), teratoblastoma, colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, and germ cell neoplasms.
For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures. Not for resale without express authorization.
Protein Aliases: a fetoglobulin; a fetoprotein; Alpha fetoglobulin; Alpha-1-fetoprotein; Alpha-fetoglobulin; Alpha-fetoprotein; fetoglobulin; fetoprotein; α fetoglobulin; α fetoprotein
Gene Aliases: AFP; AFPD; FETA; HPAFP
UniProt ID: (Human) P02771
Entrez Gene ID: (Human) 174
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