Anti-PSA-NCAM MicroBeads recognize polysialic acid (PSA), which is linked to the extracellular domain of the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM, CD56).
PSA-NCAM, the highly polysialated form of NCAM, is predominantly expressed in embryonic and neonatal neural tissue
. In adult mammalian brain PSA-NCAM expression is restricted mainly to areas that retain neurogenic potential, such as the subventricular zone (SVZ)
3
and the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus.
PSA-NCAM is a marker for immature neuronal-committed progenitors that are permanently generated in the SVZ and migrate along a well-defined pathway, the rostral migratory stream, into the olfactory bulb where they differentiate into GABAergic and dopaminergic interneurons.
PSA-NCAM positive neuronal precursors have been isolated from rat forebrain and from mouse SVZ tissue after depletion of A2B5
+
glial progenitor cells.