Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein

Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the GFAP gene.

Glial fibrillary acidic protein is an intermediate filament (IF) protein that is expressed by numerous cell types of the central nervous system (CNS) including astrocytes, and ependymal cells. GFAP has also been found to be expressed in glomeruli and peritubular fibroblasts taken from rat kidneys Leydig cells of the testis in both hamsters and humans, human keratinocytes, human osteocytes and chondrocytes and stellate cells of the pancreas and liver in rats. First described in 1971, GFAP is a type III IF protein that maps, in humans, to 17q21. It is closely related to its non-epithelial family members, vimentin, desmin, and peripherin, which are all involved in the structure and function of the cell’s cytoskeleton. GFAP is thought to help to maintain astrocyte mechanical strength, as well as the shape of cells but its exact function remains poorly understood, despite the number of studies using it as a cell marker. Glial fibrllary acidic protein was named and first isolated and characterized by Lawrence F. Eng in 1969. A review documenting its importance in neuropathology and neurobiology is in a review by Eng et al. entitled Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein: GFAP-Thirty-One-Years (1969-2000). Neurochem. Res. Vol. 25, 2000, pages 1439-1451.