{"type":"root","children":[{"type":"paragraph","children":[{"type":"text","value":"Synaptophysin is a synaptic vesicle glycoprotein weighing 38 kDa. It consists of four transmembrane domains and the protein is present in neuroendocrine cells and in virtually all neurons in the brain and spinal cord that participate in synaptic transmission."}]},{"type":"paragraph","children":[{"type":"text","value":"This antibody identifies both normal neuroendocrine cells and neuroendocrine neoplasms. Diffuse, finely-granular cytoplasmic staining is observed and probably correlates with the distribution of the antigen within neurosecretory vesicles. The expression of synaptophysin is independent of the presence of NSE or other neuroendocrine markers making synaptophysin an independent broad-range marker of neural and neuroendocrine differentiation."}]}]}