Description
Introduction: Neuron Specific Enolase (NSE) is the most abundant form of the glycolytic enolase found in adult neurons and is thought to serve as a growth factor in neurons. Of the three enolase subunits (alpha, beta, and gamma), NSE is a dimer composed of two gamma subunits. NSE is useful in studying neuronal differentiation and is, therefore, a valuable tool for visualizing the entire neuron and endocrine systems. Serum levels of NSE have been associated with such disease states as Alzheimer's, Huntington's Chorea, neuroblastoma, head trauma, neuroendocrine malignancies, and small cell carcinomas of the lung.
Principle of the Assay: The microtiter plate provided in this kit has been pre-coated with an antibody specific to NSE. Standards or samples are then added to the appropriate microtiter plate wells with a HRP-conjugated antibody preparation specific for NSE to each microplate well and incubated. Then a TMB (3,3',5,5' tetramethyl-benzidine) substrate solution is added to each well. Only those wells that contain NSE, HRP-conjugated antibody will exhibit a change in color. The enzyme-substrate reaction is terminated by the addition of a sulphuric acid solution and the color change is measured spectrophotometrically at a wavelength of 450 nm +/- 2 nm. The concentration of NSE in the samples is then determined by comparing the O.D. of the samples to the standard curve