A portion of amino acids 2-466 from the human protein was used as the immunogen for the recombinant Vimentin antibody.
Anti-Vimentin alone is of limited value as a diagnostic tool, however, when used in panels with other antibodies, it is useful for the sub-classification of a given tumor. Expression of vimentin, when used in conjunction with anti-keratin, is helpful when distinguishing melanomas from undifferentiated carcinomas and large cell lymphomas. All melanomas and Schwannomas react strongly with anti-vimentin. It labels a variety of mesenchymal cells, including melanocytes, lymphocytes, endothelial cells, and fibroblasts. Non-reactivity of anti-vimentin is often considered more useful than its positive reactivity, since there are a few tumors that do not contain vimentin, e.g. hepatoma and seminoma. Anti-vimentin is also useful as a tissue process control reagent.
