A novel role for c-Fos as an anti-inflammatory marker

Dear Researcher,

c-Fos is an immediate early response gene that promotes cell proliferation and differentiation in response to extracellular stimuli, and its dysregulation has been linked to oncogenic progression. As with other FOS family proteins, c-Fos can form heterodimers with JUN family proteins (c-Jun, JunB, JunD) to form the transcription factor activator protein 1. (AP-1). c-Fos, as an AP-1 heterodimer, is regarded as a master switch that converts short-term stimuli into long-term responses.

c-Fos is currently used as a marker of neuronal activity in neurobiology and has been linked to a variety of neural and behavioral responses to acute stimuli expression. In fact, age-related changes in neuronal function and plasticity, as well as a decrease in c-Fos levels, have been observed in various brain regions [PMC4712328,2015].

Biosensis offers multiple c-Fos antibodies from mice (M-1752) and rabbit (R-1751), and sheep S-045-50 that are suitable for IHC/ICC and western blot (WB) analyses (Figure 1).

A conceptual map of c-fos expression and activation in relation to diverse neuronal activities is depicted in Figure 2 below.

Figure 1: Mouse olfactory bulb sections (D) stained with Biosensis rabbit (R-1751 ), in red, and mouse mAb to NF-L, (M-2112-50), in green. Blue is the DNA via a fluorescent dye. The c-FOS antibody stains only nuclei of spontaneously active neurons. NF-L is expressed in the axons of neuronal cells.

Figure 2: The expression of c-Fos during various neuronal activities

View all c-Fos Antibodies

c-Fos: Can a High-Fat Diet (HFD) induce it?

In a recent study by Cheng et al. (2022), studying the mechanisms behind HFD addiction, animal behavior, and microglial inflammatory activation, Cheng et al. used c-fos immunohistochemistry to map neuronal activation in HFD mice versus normal diet (ND) mice. They found that c-fos activation was higher in various regions associated with addiction. In addition, the researchers found a corresponding activation of inflammatory microglia, and they went on to establish that HFD-induced neuronal activation & microglia proliferation in specific regions of the brain causes compulsive food intake in HFD mice.

The images below were taken from Figure 2(a) of the above article, showing the expression of c-Fos (green) in mice through IHC analysis using c-Fos antibodies; mice fed HFD had higher numbers of c-fos+ neurons than mice fed control Chow diets.

Some citations for our c-Fos antibodies in leading journals

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Parallel ascending spinal pathways for affective touch and pain

Genetic identification of vagal sensory neurons that control feeding

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Best wishes for your research,

The Biosensis Team

Biosensis Pty Ltd

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