AE1/AE3

AE1/AE3

A so-called pancytokeratin cocktail (it is missing CK17 and CK18) of two monoclonal antibodies which is used to identify epithelial cell lineage in tumours. AE1 reacts with acidic (type I) cytokeratins, high molecular weight (HMW) cytokeratins 10, 14, 15, 16, and low molecular weight (LMW) CK19, while AE3 reacts with all known basic (type II) cytokeratins: HMW cytokeratins 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and LMW cytokeratins 7 and 8. Notably absent is CK18, which is expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma and some other carcinomas.