I know it's to measure synaptic density and transport efficiency respectively, but could someone provide a more in-depth answer?I want to know why it's better than other potential markers, etc.
Sv2a is a synaptic protein and tubulin is a neuron marker. We use a combination of neuron marker and a synaptic marker to estimate the number of synapses in a neuron. Tubulin is the most widely used marker but for synaptic markers you can use many: synaptotagmin, synaptophysin, synapsin, etc. You can also label the postsynaptic compartment with psd95, gluRs, etc.
Thanks a lot, Marcelo! Could you tell me why certain markets for synaptic labelling are better? Such as between synaptotagmin, synaptophysin, synapsin, etc?
There is not a best one for this application. It depends on tour cells, the fixation method, the age, etc. In general for synaptic markers I use synaptic systems.