Invitrogen™ CD48 Polyclonal Antibody

CD48, also known as Blast-1, is a 45 kDa glycoprotein that is part of the SLAM and Ig superfamilies. It is a GPI-anchored protein broadly expressed on most hematopoietic cells, including lymphocytes and monocytes, but is weakly expressed on granulocytes and absent on platelets, fibroblasts, epithelium, and endothelium. CD48 plays a critical role in adhesion and T cell activation, serving as a high-affinity ligand for 2B4 and a low-affinity ligand for CD2. The interaction between 2B4 and CD48 among NK and NK-T cells regulates cell proliferation. CD48 is involved in eosinophil activation and its expression increases in several infectious diseases. It is also a marker for detecting defects in the GPI anchoring structure in patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobulinuria (PNH). Recent studies have highlighted the differential expression of SLAM family members, including CD48, CD150, and CD244, among bone marrow hematopoietic progenitors. This provides a useful tool for predicting the primitiveness of hematopoietic progenitors: hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are CD150(+)CD244(-)CD48(-), non-self-renewing multipotent progenitors (MPPs) are CD244(+)CD150(-)CD48(-), and the most restricted progenitors are CD48(+)CD244(+)CD150(-). Additionally, the 2B4-CD48 interaction may be involved in the pathology of allergic airway diseases, offering a potential pharmacological target for treating conditions like allergic rhinitis and asthma.