Nissl staining is widely used to visualize neural morphology in healthy neurons. Nissl bodies are comprised of rough endoplasmic reticulum and free ribosomes, which are crucial for protein synthesis within the neuron. These structures are abundant in the cell bodies and dendrites of neurons, appearing as granules, but are usually absent in the axon and axon hillock.
Antibodies Inc. offers a variety of fluorescent Nissl dyes such as NisslFluor™ Red, NisslFluor™ Orange and NisslFluor™ Green which bind DNA and RNA in cells and will stain the soma and proximal reaches of dendrites, cytoplasm, and nuclei of neurons in their respective fluorescent colors. Due to intensive protein synthesis, the perikarya of neurons has abundant ribosomal RNA in the rough endoplasmic reticulum (’Nissl substance’), and cytoplasmic staining of neurons is much stronger than in nuclei, so stained neurons can be distinguished from glial cells.
