The immunolysis, isolation, and properties of subpopulations of mammalian brain synaptosomes.

Five subpopulations of mammalian brain synaptosomes can be selectively damaged by complement-mediated immunolysis employing antibodies to specific surface markers for each subpopulation. This allows the size of these subpopulations to be estimated. Employing antibodies alone, it has proved possible to isolate three of these subpopulations in very pure preparations which are metabolically viable. The immunoaffinity technique involved (immunomagnetophoresis) uses magnetic microspheres and produces mg (protein) quantities of synaptosomes.