Expression of the Major Neurofilament Subunit in Chicken Erythrocytes

The 70,000-dalton core polypeptide of neurofilaments, thought to exist only in neurons, has been detected in chicken erythrocytes, where it coexists with vimentin and synemin as a component of the intermediate filament network. It is present in the circulating erythroid cells of embryos and young chickens but is nearly absent from the erythroid cells of adults. These findings are inconsistent with current models of intermediate filament expression, but provide another example of unexpected similarities between the nervous and hemopoietic systems.