Mouse/Rat Themis Antibody

Themis (THymus-Expressed Molecule Involved in Selection; also C6orf190, Gasp and Thylex) is a 72-74 kDa member of the Themis family of proteins. It has restricted expression, being found in double negative #2-4 thymocytes, double positive thymocytes, and CD4⁺ plus CD8⁺ thymocytes and T cells. The molecule is known to constitute part of the TCR signalosome, along with LAT, Grb2 and PLC gamma1, and is required for ERK and AP-1 activation. Themis appears to contribute to the process of positive selection. In particular, it is needed to prevent cell death during the selection process. Mouse Themis is 636 amino acids (aa) in length. It contains two globular CABIT (Cys-containing, all-beta in Themis) domains (aa 1-260 and 261-520) plus an NLS (aa 555-563). There are four isoform variants. One shows a 25 aa substitution for aa 238-636, a second possesses an alternative start site at Met90 coupled to a 13 aa substitution for aa 589-636, while third and fourth variants contain 7 aa and 17 aa substitutions for aa 589-636. Over aa 122-237, mouse Themis shares 96% and 87% aa identity with rat and human Themis, respectively.