Neurofilament NF-M Antibody – CPCA-NF-M

Encor Chicken Polyclonal Antibody to Neurofilament Medium, NF-M.

Neurofilaments can be defined as the intermediate or 10nm filaments found in neuronal cells. In the electron microscope, neurofilaments appear as 10nm-diameter fibers of indeterminate length which generally have fine wispy protrusions from their sides. They are found abundantly in axons of large projection neurons. The possible function of neurofilaments is to provide structural support for neurons and their synapses, and to support the large axon diameters required for rapid conduction of impulses down axons. They are composed a mixture of subunits which usually include three neurofilament triplet proteins known as NF-L, NF-M, and NF-H. Neurofilaments may also include smaller amounts of peripherin, alpha-internexin, nestin and in some cases, vimentin. NF-M is the neurofilament middle or medium molecular weight polypeptide and appears on SDS-PAGE gels at 145-160 kDa.

Antibodies to NF-M are very useful cell type markers since the protein is among the most abundant of the nervous system, is expressed only in neurons, and is biochemically very stable. NF-M antibodies can also be useful to visualize the neurofilament aggregates seen in many neurological diseases, such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease.

To raise the anti-NF-M antibody, the C-terminal extension of rat NF-M, the so-called KE segment, was expressed in bacteria and purified from inclusion bodies by dissolving in 6M urea followed by preparative gel electrophoresis (1). CPCA-NF-M antibody was generated in chicken by standard procedures, and immunoglobulin was extracted from egg yolk. The resulting polyclonal antibody belongs to the IgY subclass. This is the chicken homologue of mammalian IgG and can be used in the same general way, with the caveat that this type of antibody does not bind either Protein A or Protein G.

HGNC name(s) : NEFM

Host : Chicken

Clonality : Polyclonal

ID : EnCor Biotechnology Neurofilament NF-M NF-M

Reactivity : Human | Mouse | Rat | Chicken | Cow | Pig

Isotype : IgY

Conjugation : none

Immunogen : C-terminal rat KE segment

Mass of detected protein : 145 kDa by SDS-PAGE

Uniprot ID : P07197

KGNC name : NEFM

RRID # : AB_2572367

Purification : Concentrated IgY preparation

Storage : Shipped on ice. Store at 4°C. For long term storage, leave frozen at -20°C. Avoid freeze / thaw cycles.

Validated applications : WB | IF/ICC | IHC

Suggested Dilutions:

WB: 1:5 000 for neural tissue extracts, and 1:1 000 for cells. IF/IHC:1:1 000

Datasheet

Link to on EnCor’s website

References :

1. Harris, J., Ayyub, C. and Shaw G. A molecular dissection of the carboxyterminal tails of the major neurofilament subunits NF-M and NF-H. J Neurosci Res 30:47-62 1991.

2. Wang, Y., Zhang, J., Mori, S. and Nathans. J. Axonal Growth and Guidance Defects in Frizzled3 Knock-Out Mice: A Comparison of Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Neurofilament Staining, and Genetically Directed Cell Labeling. J. Neurosci. 26:355-364 2006.