Characterization of a new 120 kDa microtubule-associated protein (MAP) of rat brain

A novel protein was identified in rat brain microtubules using a monoclonal antibody. The immunoreactive protein is a microtubule-associated protein (MAP) by the criteria of co-purification with tubulin through repeated cycles of microtubule polymerisation in vitro. It belongs to the class of thermostable MAPs and runs as a closely spaced polypeptide doublet of 120 kDa on SDS-PAGE gels. MAP-120 kDa is brain- and neuron-specific and is localized predominantly in Purkinje cell bodies and dendrites in the cerebellum and in dendritic compartments of pyramidal and granule neurons in the hippocampus and dentate gyrus. During postnatal brain development, MAP-120 kD levels increase about 3 to 4-fold.