Specificity
This antibody recognises human CD11c, also known as integrin alpha X (ITGAX). Integrins are integral cell-surface proteins composed of an alpha chain and a beta chain. CD11c combines with the beta 2 chain (ITGB2) to form a leukocyte-specific integrin referred to as inactivated-C3b (iC3b) receptor 4 (CR4). CD11c is ~150 kDa in size, and is expressed predominantly on tissue macrophages and dendritic cells.CD11c binds a myriad of ligands including cell adhesion molecules (e.g. ICAM-1, ICAM-4), bacterial cell wall components (LPS), complement protein (iC3b), and matrix proteins such as fibrinogen and collagen. In light of this, CD11c has a number of functions including phagocytosis, cell migration, and cytokine production by macrophages/monocytes, as well as induction of T cell proliferation by Langerhans cells.