NeuN Neuronal Marker | PanoBrain Glossary

Definition

A neuron-specific nuclear protein used as an immunohistochemical marker to distinguish mature neurons from glia. Combined with nuclear segmentation, the marker allows neurons to be counted and their density mapped separately from other cells.

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 is the 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