Pancreatic Marker IHC Antibody Sampler Kit #28002

Insulin is a hormone that is produced and released from pancreatic β cells through a glucose sensing pathway. Proinsulin is the precursor molecule to insulin and is processed prior to its secretion. Insulin is composed of A-peptide and B-peptide which are joined by a disulfide bond. The center one-third of the molecule is cleaved and released as C-peptide, which has a longer half-life than insulin (1). Antibodies to both insulin and C-peptide are useful markers for β cells.

Glucose homeostasis is regulated by a variety of hormones including glucagon. Glucagon is synthesized as the precursor molecule proglucagon and is proteolytically processed to yield the mature peptide in α cells of the pancreatic islets. Glucagon causes the release of glucose from glycogen and stimulates gluconeogenesis in the liver (2). Antibodies to glucagon and proglucagon are useful markers for pancreatic α cells.

NKX6.1 is an important transcription factor in a network of transcription factors that are critical for pancreatic β cell development and maintenance (3). Antibodies to NKX6.1 are useful markers for β cells.

Pan-Keratin and CD200 antibodies are useful to mark and differentiate some pancreatic tumor subtypes. Pan-Keratin antibodies mark epithelial cells in pancreatic adenocarcinomas while CD200 is a useful marker for neuroendocrine pancreatic tumors (4).