OptimAb Neurofilament H Non-Phosphorylated , Monoclonal Antibody, purified

Blue ice

Neurofilaments are key components of the neuronsCytoskeleton whose main function is to provide structural support to the axons. There are 3 major neurofilament subunits: light or lowest (NF-L), medium or middle (NF-M) and heavy or highest (NF-H). SMI 32 reacts with a non-phosphorylated epitope in NF-H of most mammalian species. The reaction is masked when the epitope is phosphorylated. Staining of isolated neurofilament preparations is greatly intensified upon dephosphorylation. Immunocytochemically, SMI 32 visualizes neuronal cell bodies, dendrites and some thick axons in the central and peripheral nervous systems, but thin axons are not revealed. Other cells and tissues are unreactive. The antibody distinguishes three subdivisions of the macaque precentral motor cortex. The greater size of the left versus the right superior temporal lobe was found to be due to increased axonal myelination and not due to increased number of glial cells or SMI 32-enumerated neurons, suggesting that the specialization for language in the left temporal lobe is related to increased speed of signal transmission. In cultures of murine cortex, SMI 32 labels a neuronal population with enhanced vulnerability to kainate toxicity most of which are GABAergic and reveal kainate-activated Ca2+ uptake.