Neurofilament protein

Protein building blocks in neurofilaments. They are composed of 3 subunits, which are designated according to the relative molecular mass according to:

NF-L ("light"; 68 kDa)

NF-M ("medium"; 150 kDa)

NF-H ("heavy"; 200 kDa)

The neurofilament proteins are encoded by different genes.

Antibodies against neurofilament proteins (mostly against NF-H) mark proteins in the neurofilaments of dendrites and axons of peripheral nerves. Furthermore, neural tumours, Merkel cell carcinomas, neuroblastomas, carcinoids; occasionally malignant melanomas are also marked.

Neurofilaments have a diameter of 10 nm; they belong to the group of intermediate filaments, but are specific for nerve cells. It is not known whether neurofilaments have other functions besides a supporting function. In dendrites the neurofilaments run in their longitudinal direction. In the axon they are evenly distributed, as can be seen in the cross section. Their number is proportional to the thickness of the axon. Together with the neurotubules, neurofilaments form the neurofibrils visible by light micromicroscopy.

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2. Romano RC et al(2015) Aberrant intermediate filament and synaptophysin expression is a frequent eventin
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