GFAP

A glial-specific type-III intermediate filament protein

General Information

Glial fibrillary acidic protein GFAP is a glial-specific member of the intermediate filament protein family. This group comprises celltype-specific filamentous proteins with similar structure and function as scaffold for cytoskeleton assembly and maintenance.
Frequently, neural stem cells also express GFAP. In addition many types of brain tumors, probably derived from astrocytic cells, heavily express GFAP. This protein is also found in the lens epithelium, Kupffer cells of the liver, in some cells in salivary tumors and others.
Point-mutations in the GFAP gene have been correlated to Alexander disease a fatal leukoencephalopathy that leads to the dysmyelination or demyelination of the central nervous system.