The B159 monoclonal antibody specifically binds to CD56
CD56 is a heavily glycosylated adhesion protein that is present on a subpopulation of peripheral blood large granular lymphocytes that demonstrate natural killer activity
CD56 is also expressed on a subset of T cells but is not expressed on myeloid cells, erythrocytes or B cells
This antigen is a pan-NK-cell marker
CD56 is virtually identical to an isoform of the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM), a structure mediating homotypic and heterotypic cell-cell interactions.