TIM-3 (E9K5D) Rabbit mAb (Alexa Fluor® 488 Conjugate)

T cell Ig- and mucin-domain-containing molecules (TIMs) are a family of transmembrane proteins expressed by various immune cells. TIM-3 is an inhibitory molecule that is induced following T cell activation (1-3 ). TIM-3 is expressed by exhausted T cells in the settings of chronic infection and cancer (4,5), and tumor-infiltrating T cells that coexpress PD-1 and TIM-3 exhibit the most severe exhausted phenotype (5). Tumor-infiltrating dendritic cells (DCs) also express TIM-3. TIM-3 expression on DCs was found to suppress innate immunity by reducing the immunogenicity of nucleic acids released by dying tumor cells (6). Research studies show that heterodimerization of TIM-3 with CEACAM-1 is critical for the inhibitory function of TIM-3, and co-blockade of TIM-3 and CEACAM-1 enhanced anti-tumor responses in a mouse model of colorectal cancer (7). In addition, blockade of TIM-3 in mouse models of autoimmunity enhanced the severity of disease (1). Finally, binding of Galectin-9 to TIM-3 expressed by Th1 cells induces T cell death (8). 1.Monney, L. et al. (2002) Nature 415, 536-41. 2.Sánchez-Fueyo, A. et al. (2003) Nat Immunol 4, 1093-101. 3.Sabatos, C.A. et al. (2003) Nat Immunol 4, 1102-10. 4.Jones, R.B. et al. (2008) J Exp Med 205, 2763-79. 5.Sakuishi, K. et al. (2010) J Exp Med 207, 2187-94. 6.Chiba, S. et al. (2012) Nat Immunol 13, 832-42. 7.Huang, Y.H. et al. (2015) Nature 517, 386-90. 8.Zhu, C. et al. (2005) Nat Immunol 6, 1245-52.