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FLASH GENE
Symbol GFAP contributors: mct/npt - updated : 11-03-2020
HGNC name glial fibrillary acidic protein
HGNC id 4235
Corresponding disease
ALXD1 Alexander disease 1
Location 17q21.31      Physical location : 42.982.992 - 42.992.914
Synonym name intermediate filament protein
Synonym symbol(s) DT1P1A4, FLJ45472
DNA
TYPE functioning gene
STRUCTURE 9.93 kb     9 Exon(s)
10 Kb 5' upstream gene genomic sequence study
text structure
  • five or more CAG repeats
  • MAPPING cloned Y linked N status confirmed
    RNA
    TRANSCRIPTS type messenger
    identificationnb exonstypebpproduct
    ProteinkDaAAspecific expressionYearPubmed
    9 - 3081 50 432 - 2016 27141937
    also called GFAP alpha
    8 splicing 1837 - 431 - 2003 12837269
  • also called GFAP epsilon
  • exon 7A and loss of exons 8and 9 confering binding capacity for the presenilin proteins
  • - - - - - . specifically in the adult brain cells . and specifically expressed in radial glia and subventricular zone neural progenitors during brain development 2016 27141937
  • GFAP delta
  • differs in its C-terminal sequence from other GFAP isoforms (PMID: 19508443)
  • useful marker for the demonstration of balloon cells in cortical dysplasia (FCD) type IIB, cortical tuberous sclerosis (TSC) lesions, which may be relevant to their abnormal size and localization
  • can distinguish resting astrocytes from proliferating subventricular zone progenitors
  • GFAP-delta may be a useful diagnostic marker for the evaluation of functional cataplasia or proliferation of astrocytic tumor
  • 7 - 2193 - 438 - 2003 12837269
    GFAP kappa
    10 - 3206 - 472 - 2003 12837269
    EXPRESSION
    Type widely
       expressed in (based on citations)
    organ(s)
    SystemOrgan level 1Organ level 2Organ level 3Organ level 4LevelPubmedSpeciesStageRna symbol
    Nervousbrainlimbic systemhippocampus highly
    Respiratoryrespiratory tractlarynx  highly
    Urinarykidney   highly
    tissue
    SystemTissueTissue level 1Tissue level 2LevelPubmedSpeciesStageRna symbol
    Blood / Hematopoieticbone marrow   
    Nervouscentral   
    Nervousperipherous   
    cells
    SystemCellPubmedSpeciesStageRna symbol
    Nervousastrocyte Homo sapiens
    Nervousneuron
    cell lineage
    cell lines
    fluid/secretion
    at STAGE
    PROTEIN
    PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    STRUCTURE
    motifs/domains
  • myosin tail
  • a central alpha-helical rod domain containing characteristic heptad repeats of hydrophobic AA
  • non-alpha-helical N-terminal head domain
  • C-terminal tail domain
  • HOMOLOGY
    Homologene
    FAMILY
  • intermediate filament family
  • type III subfamily
  • CATEGORY structural protein
    SUBCELLULAR LOCALIZATION     intracellular
    intracellular,cytoplasm,cytosolic
    intracellular,cytoplasm,cytoskeleton,intermed filament
    text glial fibrillary, fil intermediate, class III, acidic
    basic FUNCTION
  • acting as a cell-specific marker that, during the development of the central nervous system, distinguishes astrocytes from other glial cells
  • might contribute to form macro-complexes to initiate mitogenic and differentiating signaling for efficient nerve regeneration
  • principal intermediate filament in mature astrocytes of the central nervous system
  • is the main intermediate filament in astrocytes and is regulated by epigenetic mechanisms during development
  • is the characteristic intermediate filament (IF) protein in astrocytes
  • CELLULAR PROCESS
    PHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESS
    PATHWAY
    metabolism
    signaling
    a component
    INTERACTION
    DNA
    RNA
    small molecule
    protein
  • S100A1 binding
  • interacting with VIM and SYNM in astrocytes (Jing 2007)
  • PAX3 is a novel regulator of GFAP transcription, which could bind the promoter region of GFAP and down regulate the GFAP level during the serum-induced astrocyte differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs)
  • role of retinoic acid signaling in GFAP expression
  • PAX3 is a regulator of GFAP transcription, which could bind the promoter region of GFAP and down regulate the GFAP level during the serum-induced astrocyte differentiation of neural stem cells
  • SIN3A coupled with MECP2 bound to the GFAP promoter and their occupancies were correlated with repression of GFAP transcription
  • caspase-mediated GFAP proteolysis may be a common event in the context of both the GFAP mutation and excess
  • histone acetylation in astrocytes suppresses GFAP and stimulates a reorganization of the intermediate filament network
  • cell & other
    REGULATION
    repressed by PAX3, that negatively regulates GFAP expression during astrocyte differentiation
    ASSOCIATED DISORDERS
    corresponding disease(s) ALXD1
    Other morbid association(s)
    TypeGene ModificationChromosome rearrangementProtein expressionProtein Function
    constitutional     --over  
    in patients with structural lesions resulting from mild traumatic brain injuries
    constitutional     --over  
    in Alzheimer disease and correlates with cognitive impairment
    constitutional     --over  
    in the cerebrospinal fluid of Alzheimer disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and frontotemporal lobar degeneration
    constitutional     --over  
    in anterior cingulate cortical white matter in males with autism spectrum disorder
    Susceptibility
    Variant & Polymorphism
    Candidate gene
  • role of GFAP and UCHL1 as candidate biomarkers for pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI)
  • Marker
  • marker for astrogliosis, and is a potential biomarker for multiple sclerosis (MS) progression and may have a role in clinical trials for assessing the impact of therapies on MS progression
  • increased serum GFAP, S100B, ENO2 are associated with acute CO poisoning, and these biomarkers can be useful in assessing the clinical status of patients with CO poisoning
  • autoantibodies against GFAP could serve as a predictive marker for the development of overt autoimmune diabetes
  • is a promising diagnostic biomarker for intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) diagnosis in the early pre-hospital phase
  • Therapy target
    ANIMAL & CELL MODELS