Product Description
MART-1 recognizes an 18 kDa protein (Melanoma Antigen Recognized by T cells 1) and is specific for melanocytic lesions, making it a valuable component of melanoma panels.15-17 MART-1 has been shown to be more sensitive than HMB45 for labeling metastatic melanomas. Tyrosinase, a key enzyme in early melanin biosynthesis, is more sensitive than HMB45 and MART-1 and labels a higher percentage of desmoplastic melanomas.15 The combination of MART-1 and Tyrosinase aids in identifying metastatic melanoma in sentinel lymph nodes.16
SOX10, a transcription factor in the SRY-related HMG-Box family, plays an important role in neural crest, peripheral nervous system, and melanocytic cell development.18-22 It is widely expressed in normal human tissues including melanocytes and breast tissue and is a marker for malignant tumors such as melanoma, breast carcinoma, gliomas, and benign tumors including schwannomas.18-20 SOX10 is expressed in the vast majority of desmoplastic and spindle cell melanomas and in 100% of nevi.18,19 Compared to S100, SOX10 is less likely to stain background fibroblasts or histiocytes within scars, making it a more specific marker in these contexts.20
The combination of SOX10 with MART-1 and/or Tyrosinase increases detection sensitivity in lymph node and metastatic melanoma specimens compared to S100 and provides greater specificity, as S100 stains dendritic processes in lymph nodes while SOX10, MART-1, and Tyrosinase remain negative.21,22 This antibody cocktail is suitable for tumors of unknown origin or for differential diagnosis of melanoma and its mimics. PATENT PENDING.