P14136

GFAP(Glial fibrillary acidic protein) is an intermediate filament (IF) protein belonging to the type III subclass of IF proteins. Like other IF proteins, GFAP is composed of an amino-terminal head domain, a central rod domain and a carboxy-terminal tail domain. GFAP is specifically found in astroglia, a cell type which is highly responsive to neurologic insults. Astrogliosis is found to be a result of mechanical trauma, AIDS dementia, prion infection and inflammatory demylination diseases, and is accompanied by an increase in GFAP expression. GFAP is an immunohistochemical marker for localizing benign astrocyte and neoplastic cells of glial origin in the central nervous system.