Immunostaining of neurofilament protein in human postmortem cortex: a sensitive and specific approach to the pattern analysis of human cortical cytoarchitecture.

Antibodies raised against the 200 000 neurofilament protein (NFP) of rat brain have been successfully applied to the staining of human postmortem cortex using a modified immunoperoxidase procedure. Human anterior cingulate cortex which has been in formaldehyde fixative for as long as 4 years shows extensive and reliable staining of axons and, to a lesser degree, apical dendrites of cortical neurons. The immunostaining of 200 000 NFP in human cortex has revealed cytoarchitectural details not generally visible with other more conventional neuroanatomical stains, particularly when counterstaining with cresyl violet is employed. Potential applications of this approach to the pattern analysis of human cortical cytoarchitecture in both health and disease are discussed.