Rats have been used as a model for humans for over 150 years. Rats were the original animal model with the use of mice becoming more prevalent due to the development of transgenic mice models.
Rats are however consistently more representative of humans compared to mice:
And simply due to their larger size, rats are easier to handle and are better suited to transplantation research and repeat bleeds.
Now that the rat genome has been mapped and knock in and knock out transgenic rat strains are available the rat model may become used more widely.
Below are a few interesting facts about lab rats:
When designing your experiment it is important to consider the target cell frequency. The numbers of cells that need to be stained to collect a statistically relevant number of positive or negative cells need to be understood.This way you can avoid having to repeat the experiment simply due to the lack of statistical significance. Table 1 shows the relative frequency of cells in commonly used rat tissues. Go to our dedicated cell frequencies page for more detailed information.
Table 1. Rat immune cell frequencies.
Table 2 lists markers that can be used to determine different immune cell lineages.
Table 2. Rat lineage markers and antibodies.
As rats can be used in many research areas, there are a large number of commonly used markers. Table 3 lists key markers to identify various cell types.
Table 3. Key rat markers to target cell or research area along with available antibodies.
Mouse Anti-Rat CD44 Antibody, clone OX-50 recognizes the rat CD44 cell surface antigen, also known as Extracellular Matrix Receptor III. CD44 is a 482 amino acid ~85 kDa single pass type I transmembrane glycoprotein, expressed by T cells, B cells, macrophages and thymocytes. Mouse Anti-Rat CD4 (Domain 2) Antibody, clone OX-35 recognizes the rat CD4 cell surface antigen, a ~55kDa glycoprotein expressed by helper T cells and weakly by monocytes. Rat markers CD44 and CD4 have been used in flow cytometry (Figure 1), showing T cell, B cell and macrophage populations. Following this, CD4 has been used in immunohistochemistry showing T cells.
Fig. 1. Flow cytometry analysis of rat makers CD44 and CD4. A, A647 conjugated Mouse Anti-Rat CD4 (MCA153A647) and RPE conjugated Mouse IgG2a Isotype Control (MCA1210PE). B, A647 conjugated Mouse Anti-Rat CD4 (MCA153A647) and RPE conjugated Mouse Anti-Rat CD44 (MCA643PE). All experiments performed on red cell lysed rat blood gated on mononuclear cells.
Fig. 2. Immunohistochemistry analysis of rat marker CD4.CD4+ T cells clustering around central arteriole in the white pulp of rat spleen (cryosection) stained with MCA153.
Bio-Rad has an extensive range of rat monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies guaranteed for use in applications such as flow cytometry, western blotting, immunoprecipitation, IHC and, ELISA. These antibodies are available in various formats, however if you can’t find the format you need, you can also choose from a range of easy-to-use conjugation kits.
These anti-rat antibodies are targeted against markers for study in various research areas specifically immunology, pathology, toxicology, neurology and transplantation.
The following types of antibody are available:
Bio-Rad has one the most comprehensive range of ED clone anti-rat antibodies primarily for the study of macrophage subtypes but also other related molecules.
Table 4. ED clone anti-rat antibodies, marker and cell type.
Abbreviations: E, ELISA; FC, flow cytometry; IF/ICC, immunofluorescence/immunocytochemistry; IHC-F, immunohistochemistry-frozen; IHC-P, immunohistochemistr
