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Preparation and characterisation of a monoclonal antibody to an antigen enriched in chick brain postsynaptic
S Bullock1, P R Gordon-Weeks, A Csillag
1Brain Research Group, Open University, Milton Keynes, England.
Abstract:
The preparation and characterisation of a monoclonal antibody to an antigen enriched in day-old chick brain postsynaptic densities (PSDs), with respect to other subcellular loci, are described. Immunolabelling with this antibody produced a dendritic immunoprecipitate that was markedly stronger in PSDs than in other subcellular loci. Thus, the antiserum could be used as a marker for PSDs during their purification by subcellular fractionation, as well as in the study of PSD assembly. Monoclonal antibody 411B has already been shown to be a useful tool in the chemical determination of changes in synapse density after various experimental manipulations in both the chick and rat. In the present study, we have used the antiserum to monitor the appearance and maintenance or redundancy of synaptic components in the developing chick forebrain.