Alexa Fluor® 488 anti-GFAP

Glial fibrillary acidic protein is an intermediate filament (IF) protein that is expressed by numerous cell types of the central nervous system (CNS) including astrocytes and ependymal cells. GFAP has also been found to be expressed in glomeruli and peritubular fibroblasts, Leydig cells of the testis, keratinocytes, osteocytes and chondrocytes and stellate cells of the pancreas and liver. GFAP is a type III IF protein that is closely related to its non-epithelial family members, vimentin, desmin, and peripherin, which are all involved in the structure and function of the cell’s cytoskeleton. GFAP is thought to help to maintain astrocyte mechanical strength, as well as the shape of cells. Type III intermediate filaments are highly conserved and contain three domains, named the head, rod and tail domains. This rod domain coils around that of another filament to form a dimer, with the N-terminal and C-terminal of each filament aligned. Type III filaments such as GFAP are capable of formin