Specificity:

Anti-Neurofilament (200 kDa) recognizes the large subunit of the neurofilament triplet.

The 200 kDa neurofilament antigen is present in neurons and tumor cells of neuronal origin. Antibody 2D2 reacts with the phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated forms.

Background:

The family of proteins making intermediate filaments is divided into 5 major classes, the keratins forming the classes I and II. The neurofilament subunits occupy the class IV family of intermediate filaments, and was originally thought to contain only three proteins named NF-L, NF-M and NF-H. These names come from the apparent molecular weight of the mammalian subunits on SDS-PAGE:
- the light or lowest (NF-L) runs at 68-70kDa
- the medium or middle (NF-M) runs at about 145-160kDa
- the heavy or highest (NF-H) runs at 200-220kDa
The SDS-PAGE molecular weights vary between mammalian species, with larger species usually having larger proteins. Neurofilaments are found in vertebrate neurons in especially high concentrations along the axons, where they appear to regulate axonal diameter.

In the adult mammal neurofilament subunit proteins coassemble in vivo, forming a heteropolymer that contain NF-L plus NF-M or NF-H. The NF-H and NF-M proteins have lengthy C-terminal tail domains that appear to control the spacing between neighboring filaments, generating aligned arrays with a fairly uniform interfilament spacing.

Known Species Cross Reactivity: Ms+, Rt+