GFAP Polyclonal Antibody

Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is a protein encoded by the GFAP gene in humans and a member of the class III intermediate filament (IF) protein family.{53009} It is composed of an N-terminal head domain, a highly conserved ?-helical rod domain, and a C-terminal tail domain that mediate GFAP self-assembly, dimerization, and oligomerization, respectively.{53010,53011} GFAP is expressed in, and has commonly been used as a pan marker for, mature astrocytes.{53009} GFAP IFs form a dynamic network of cytosolic filament proteins that collectively provide structure and strength to the cytoskeleton of astrocytes, thus supporting their morphology and function.{53009} Isolated astrocytes from neonatal Gfap-/- mouse brain have reduced numbers of IFs and IF bundles, increased proliferation, and loss of contact-inhibited growth.{53015,53016} Gfap-/- mice develop more diffuse and infiltrative brain lesions compared to wild-type littermates in a mouse model of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE).{53019} Mutations in the rod and tail domains of GFAP have been associated with Rosenthal fiber formation, a hallmark of Alexander disease.{53013} Transgenic overexpression of Gfap in mice increases the expression of certain cytokines and antioxidative enzymes in the olfactory bulb and has been used as a mouse model of Alexander disease.{53017} GFAP can be citrullinated on the arginine residue at position 270 (R270) and at R416 by protein arginine deiminase 1 (PAD1; Item No. 10784) and PAD2 (Item No. 10785).{53021} Citrullinated GFAP has been found in rat cerebral cortex in a model of traumatic brain injury, as well as in postmortem hippocampus from patients with Alzheimer's disease.{53020,53021} Cayman's GFAP Polyclonal Antibody can be used for ELISA, IHC, and WB applications. The antibody recognizes GFAP at ~50 kDa from human and murine samples.