An Immunological Homology Between Neurofilament and Muscle Elastic Eilament: A Monoclonal Antibody Cross-Reacts With Neurofilament Subunits and Connectin

A monoclonal antibody raised against a crude myosin preparation from human soleus muscle was shown to react with rabbit skeletal muscle connectin, and also with the NF-H (200 K) and NF-M (160 K) subunits of neurofilament of the rabbit. In human neurofilament proteins, the antibody reacted with NF-H but not with NE-M. Immunofluorescence studies using the antibody revealed that it stained not only human skeletal and cardiac muscles but also nerve axon and central nerve cell body. Thus, the present work demonstrates an immunological homology between connectin, an elastic filamentous protein in striated muscles, and two subunits (NF-H and NF-M) of neurofilament, an intermediate filament in the nerve cells.