NeuN Neuronal Marker | PanoBrain Glossary

Definition

A neuron-specific nuclear protein used as an immunohistochemical marker to distinguish mature neurons from glia, enabling neuron-selective counting and density mapping when combined with nuclear segmentation.

Post-Mitotic Specificity

Labels mature neurons, not progenitors or glia

Nuclear Localization

Co-localizes with DAPI for straightforward classification

Neuron-Specific Detection

NeuN (Neuronal Nuclei, also known as Rbfox3) is expressed in the nuclei of post-mitotic neurons but not in glial cells, making it the standard marker for neuronal identification in tissue sections. Combined with PanoBrain scanning and StrataQuest analysis:

DAPI channel segments all nuclei
NeuN channel identifies which nuclei are neuronal
Atlas registration assigns each neuron to a brain region
The result: neuron density per region across the entire brain

Connected Terms

DAPI Nuclear Stain Category Related
Classifier Related
Phenotypes Related
Viral Tracer Visualization Category
GFAP Astrocyte Marker Category
GFP Fluorescence Category