Fcγ receptors

Introduction

The mammalian immune system has evolved to defend organisms against pathogens by layering the specificity of the adaptive immunity on top of the ancestral innate immunity. It is Fc receptors that act as the bridge between the adaptive and innate immunity, bringing the fire power of the innate immunity’s cellular response to the site of antibody binding. In humans there are a range of Fc receptors including those for IgM, (Fc mu receptors), IgA (Fc alpha receptors), IgE (Fc epsilon receptors) and IgG (Fc gamma receptors). Although these all serve an important biological purpose it is Fc gamma receptors (FcgR or FcγR) that are of most interest in therapeutic antibody development as the majority of antibodies or related molecules in development are of the IgG subclass. For this reason, Gamma Proteins focuses on the supply of high-quality Fc gamma receptors. In humans there are five Fc gamma receptors: Fc gamma RI (FcgRI or CD64); Fc gamma RIIa (FcgRIIa or CD32a); Fc gamma RIIb (FcgRIIb or CD32b); Fc gamma RIIIa (FcgRIIIa or CD16a); and Fc gamma RIIIb (FcgRIIIb or CD16b). Gamma Proteins supplies the extra cellular domains (ECDs) for all the human Fc gamma receptors, including the polymorphic variants or allotypes for CD32a, CD16a and CD16b. All Fc gamma receptors are available in unconjugated or biotinylated formats. For more information please see our product list. For further background information on Fc gamma receptors see here.