Clinical Significance
The protein is a determinant for the Indian blood group system.
- CD44, along with CD25, is used to track early T cell development in the thymus.
- CD44 expression is an indicative marker for effector-memory T-cells. Memory cell proliferation (activation) can also be assayed in vitro with CFSE chemical tagging.
In addition, variations in CD44 are reported as cell surface markers for some breast and prostate cancer stem cells. and has been seen as an indicator of increased survival time in epithelial ovarian cancer patients.
Endometrial cells in women with endometriosis demonstrate increased expression of splice variants of CD44, and increased adherence to peritoneal cells.
CD44 variant isoforms are also relevant to the progression of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
Monoclonal antibodies against CD44 variants include bivatuzumab for v6.
Read more about this topic: CD44
Famous quotes containing the word significance:
“The hysterical find too much significance in things. The depressed find too little.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)