Background information
The Astrocyte Isolation Starter Kit includes the Neural Tissue Dissociation Kit (T), which guarantees conservation of the GLAST epitope for the isolation step. The Anti-GLAST (ACSA-1) MicroBead Kit isolates rat or mouse astrocytes which are positive for GLAST.
The antibody ACSA-1 (astrocyte cell surface antigen-1) recognizes an extracellular epitope of the astrocyte specific transmembrane glycoprotein GLAST.
1,2 Besides GLT-1, GLAST is the most abundant glutamate transporter and is predominantly expressed by astrocytes in the developing and neonatal mammalian CNS. Also radial glia, which belong to the astrocyte lineage and play important roles in development, are known to express GLAST.
