characterization of a mouse monoclonal antibody to vimentin by indirect immunofluorescence microscopy and immunoblotting a murine igm monoclonal antibody termed mc15a13g was produced after immunization of balbc mouse with swiss mouse dental papillae this antibody characterized by immunoblotting analysis and indirect immunofluorescence microscopy recognized a 57 kda protein identified as vimentin in different cell types with no cross reaction with other cytoskeletal proteins signaling survival how axons rescue their glia the trophic theory of cell survival hypothesizes that cell number is regulated by survival signals generated by other cells work published in this issue of developmental cell confirms that neurons can provide trophic support for glia in drosophila and fills in important molecular details of this interaction