200kDa Neurofilament Heavy Antibody (NF-01) (NB500-416) (0.1 mg)

Neurofilaments can be defined as the intermediate or 10nm filaments found in specifically in neuronal cells. When visualised using an electron microscope, neurofilaments appear as 10nm diameter fibres of indeterminate length that generally have fine wispy protrusions from their sides. They are particularly abundant in axons of large projection neurons. They probably function to provide structural support for neurons and their synapses and to support the large axon diameters required for rapid conduction of impulses down axons. Neurofilaments are composed of a mixture of subunits, which usually includes the three neurofilament triplet proteins neurofilament light (NFL), neurofilament medium (NFM) and neurofilament heavy (NFH). Neurofilaments may also include smaller amounts of peripherin, alpha internexin, nestin and in some cases vimentin. Antibodies to the various neurofilament subunits are very useful cell type markers since the proteins are among the most abundant of the nervous system, are expressed only in neurons, and are biochemically very stable. Some studies have shown that levels of neurofilament heavy and neurofilament light are elevated in patients with Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal lobe dementia, and vascular dementia. This 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, this antibody labels a neuronal population with enhanced vulnerability to kainate toxicity, most of which are GABAergic and reveal kainate activated Ca2+ uptake.