B6-hCD3/hEPCAM Mouse

Cluster of Differentiation 3 (CD3) is a protein complex that acts as a co-receptor for T cells and is involved in the activation of cytotoxic T cells (CTLs) and helper T cells (THs). CD3 consists of five polypeptide chains: γ, δ, ε, ζ, and η, all of which are transmembrane proteins. The transmembrane regions of CD3 molecules connect with the transmembrane regions of TCR's two polypeptide chains through salt bridges, forming the TCR-CD3 complex, which is essential for T cell antigen recognition ^[1-2]. After TCR recognizes an antigen, the activation signal is transduced by CD3 into the T cell. CD3 is highly specific at all developmental stages of T cells, thus it is considered a T cell-specific immunohistochemical marker. Additionally, CD3 is present in almost all T cell lymphomas and leukemias and can be used to distinguish between morphologically similar B cell and bone marrow tumors. Due to its significant role in T cell activation and antigen recognition, CD3 is an important drug target in immunosuppressive therapy for type 1 diabetes and other autoimmune diseases ^[3].

The EPCAM gene encodes a transmembrane glycoprotein, Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule (EPCAM), also known as CD326 or Trop-1, which mediates calcium-independent homotypic cell adhesion and participates in fundamental processes including cell adhesion, migration, proliferation, and signal transduction, thereby maintaining epithelial tissue integrity ^[4]. While normally expressed on the surface of epithelial cells in organs such as the gastrointestinal tract, lungs, and skin, EPCAM is frequently overexpressed in various cancers, including colorectal, breast, and pancreatic carcinomas, but is largely absent or weakly expressed in healthy squamous epithelia ^[4]. Structurally, EPCAM comprises an extracellular domain (EpEX) mediating intercellular adhesion, a transmembrane domain, and a short intracellular domain (EpICD). Upon proteolytic cleavage by ADAM17 and γ-secretase, EpICD translocates to the nucleus, activating oncogenic pathways such as Wnt/β-catenin, ERK, and FAK-AKT, which promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), tumor progression, and metastasis ^[5]. Notably, EPCAM serves as a marker for circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and cancer stem cells, and its downregulation during EMT can complicate advanced cancer detection ^[5-6]. Furthermore, dysregulated EPCAM expression is associated with congenital tufting enteropathy (CTE), a severe intestinal epithelial dysfunction ^[5]. Given its involvement in tumor metastasis through interaction with HGFR (c-Met), targeting EPCAM with strategies like the neutralizing antibody EpAb2-6 in combination with HGFR inhibitors has shown promising preclinical efficacy ^[7].

The B6-hCD3/hEPCAM mouse is obtained by crossbreeding B6-hCD3 mice (Catalog No.: C001325) with B6-hEPCAM mice. It can be used for the development of CD3/EPCAM-targeted drugs, as well as for research in tumor immunotherapy and autoimmune disease-related drugs.