In 32 GFAP-Astrocytopathy patients, CSF GFAP was significantly higher during acute exacerbation than it was in patients with MOG encephalomyelitis, multiple sclerosis, autoimmune encephalitis, and an "other inflammatory neurological disorders" group (all p < 0.0001).
Elevated levels of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) neuronal injury markers (neurofilament light chain [NF-L] and total tau protein [t-tau]) and of the astroglial marker glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) are found in etiologically different neurological disorders affecting the peripheral and the central nervous system.
Future gene therapies for neurological disorders could benefit from using a GFAP promoter to regulate transgene expression in response to disease-induced astrocytic reactivity.
Antibodies against GFAP and other proteins associated with neurological disorders were measured by rat brain- and cell-based indirect immunofluorescence assays.
Plasma GFAP seems to be a sensitive and specific biomarker for the differentiation of ICH from both AIS and other acute neurological disorders, with the optimal diagnostic yield being present in the second hour from symptom onset.
SRCD data and MD models indicate a stronger protective effect of ceftriaxone in neurological disorders characterized by an increased production and polymerization of GFAP.
Emerging evidence also suggests that, following traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries and stroke, GFAP and its breakdown products are rapidly released into biofluids, making them strong candidate biomarkers for such neurological disorders.
Mutations in the GFAP gene lead to Alexander disease (AxD), a rare, fatal neurological disorder characterized by the presence of abnormal astrocytes that contain GFAP protein aggregates, termed Rosenthal fibers (RFs), and the loss of myelin.
Moreover, these findings suggest for the first time that GFAP activation is directly involved in Tat neurotoxicity, supporting the notion that astrocyte activation or astrocytosis may directly contribute to HIV-associated neurological disorders.