MAP2 Antibody from BIOLEGEND

Microtubules are 25 nm diameter protein rods found in most kinds of eukaryote cells. They are polymerized from a dimeric subunit made of one α subunit and one β tubulin subunit. Microtubules are associated with a family of proteins called microtubule associated proteins (MAPs), which includes the protein τ (tau) and a group of proteins referred to as MAP1, MAP2, MAP3, MAP4 and MAP5. MAP2 undergoes alternative splicing which results in four isoforms: MAP2A, MAP2B, MAP2C and MAP2D. MAP2A and MAP2B result in proteins with an apparent molecular weight of about 280 kD. MAP2C and MAP2D are smaller molecular weight proteins which correspond protein bands running at about 70-75 kD on SDS-PAGE gels. All these MAP2 isoforms share a C-terminal core sequence which includes either three or four microtubule binding domains, which are very similar to those found in the related microtubule binding protein τ (tau). MAP2 isoforms are expressed only in neuronal cells and specifically in the perikarya and dendrites of these cells. Antibodies to MAP2 are therefore excellent markers for neuronal cells, their perikarya and neuronal dendrites.