Rabbit anti-rat Thy-1/CD90

Thymocyte-1 antigen (Thy-1), also known as CD90, is a glycophosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored cell surface glycoprotein that is a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily. Expression of Thy-1, originally identified as a marker of thymocyte differentiation in mice, has been found to vary between species. In rats, unlike mice, Thy-1 is expressed on bone marrow cells but not on peripheral T-cells. In both mice and rats, Thy-1 is abundantly expressed on thymocytes and neuronal cells and to a lesser extent on fibroblasts, myofibroblasts, vascular endothelial cells, mammary glands and other non-lymphoid tissues. In many tissues the level of Thy-1 expression changes during cell differentiation. The exact function of Thy-1 has not been fully determined but studies suggest that Thy-1 may be an important regulator of cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions due to its involvement in a range of biological processes including cell growth and differentiation, cell adhesion and migration, apoptotic signalling and tumour suppression.