Antibodies are the protective proteins the immune system makes in response to foreign substances (antigens). In neuroscience they are also the workhorse reagent: for isolating, localizing and characterizing target proteins, antibody-based methods are among the most widely used approaches in cellular and molecular neuroscience, and they sit at the heart of many diagnostic tests and an increasing number of therapeutics.
This post is a short look at where antibody research in neuroscience is heading, with reproducibility and reliability in mind.
How antibodies are used now
The average adult human brain holds roughly 86 billion neurons and about as many non-neuronal cells, and neuroscience as a field keeps broadening as it works out how that tissue is organized and how it functions. Antibodies are central to almost all of it.
The main use is immunodetection, whether that is immunohistochemistry, immunocytochemistry or immunoblotting. The targets are the signature proteins and cellular markers the field returns to again and again: neuronal cell markers, astrocyte markers, microglia markers, oligodendrocyte markers, synaptic vesicle markers, neurotransmitter receptors and transporters, neurodegenerative disease markers, and neural stem cell markers.
Where it is going
Neural tissue is far more heterogeneous and molecularly complex than most other tissue. The biggest single improvement available is to design and validate antibodies specifically for that complexity, rather than assuming an antibody that works in one tissue will work in brain. When choosing an antibody, pick one that has already been validated in the application you need.
Understanding how the pathological brain develops and changes depends on being able to see its neural networks. Neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's are characterized by abnormal protein aggregates in the brain, and methods like mass spectrometry cannot show where those aggregates sit. Well-designed antibody immunogens can, which is why they remain the route to understanding neural networks and membrane proteins spatially.
Pel-Freez Biologicals supplies IgG/IgM/antibody-depleted complement, human gamma globulin, adult rabbit complement, recombinant rabbit tissue factor, normal rabbit serum and related reagents to labs working on Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. Get in touch to learn more, or call us at (800) 643-3426 or (479) 636-4361.