The MC-480 antibody reacts with a terminal carbohydrate epitope, stage-specific embryonic antigen-1 (SSEA-1), which is expressed on a large-molecular-mass (> 200 kDa) glycoprotein on the surface of early mouse embryos, mouse embryonal carcinoma (EC), embryonic stem (ES) cells and mouse and human embryonic germ (EG) cells. SSEA-1 is not expressed on undifferentiated human EC, ES or induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, or rhesus monkey ES cell lines. Its expression on mouse ES cells is decreased upon differentiation, whereas in humans, expression is upregulated during differentiation. SSEA-1 is also found on adult human granulocytes and monocytes, where it is denoted CD15, and the MC-480 antibody recognizes the CD15 marker on these cell types. It has been reported that SSEA-1 has roles in cell adhesion and migration, and regulation of cell differentiation.

This antibody clone has been verified for purity assessments of cells isolated with EasySep™ kits, including EasySep™ HLA Whole Blood CD15 Positive Selection Kit , and for labeling human ES and iPS cells grown in TeSR™-E8™ , mTeSR™1  and TeSR™2