Gfap Antibody

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Description

Definition and Biological Context

GFAP is a type III intermediate filament protein encoded by the GFAP gene, primarily maintaining astrocyte mechanical integrity and facilitating cell communication in the central nervous system (CNS) . GFAP antibodies are immunoglobulins that bind to GFAP, enabling its detection in tissues and biofluids. They are classified into:

  • Research-grade antibodies: Used in immunohistochemistry (IHC), Western blot, and immunofluorescence to visualize astrocytes .

  • Autoantibodies: Pathogenic or bystander antibodies linked to autoimmune GFAP astrocytopathy (GFAP-A), a meningoencephalomyelitis syndrome .

Autoimmune GFAP Astrocytopathy

GFAP antibodies in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or serum are biomarkers for GFAP-A, characterized by:

  • Clinical features: Meningitis, encephalitis, myelitis, optic neuropathy, and prodromal symptoms (e.g., fever, headache) .

  • Imaging hallmarks: Perivascular radial enhancement on MRI .

  • Association with comorbidities: Tumors (e.g., teratoma), viral infections (e.g., JC virus), and overlapping antibodies (e.g., AQP4-IgG, NMDAR-IgG) .

Neurodegenerative and Traumatic Disorders

  • Alzheimer’s disease (AD): Serum GFAP levels correlate with tau pathology and astrocyte reactivity, showing 91% diagnostic accuracy in distinguishing AD from non-AD dementias .

  • Traumatic brain injury (TBI): GFAP release into blood indicates astrocyte damage and blood-brain barrier disruption .

Detection Methodologies

GFAP antibodies are identified using:

MethodSensitivitySpecificityUse Case
Cell-based assay (CBA)High (CSF)HighDetects GFAPα isoform in autoimmune cases
Tissue-based assay (TBA)ModerateModerateScreens for astrocyte-specific staining
Western blotHighHighConfirms GFAP presence in brain lysates
ImmunohistochemistryHighHighLocalizes GFAP in astrocytes (cytoplasmic)

CSF testing demonstrates higher specificity than serum due to intrathecal antibody synthesis .

Pathogenicity Debate

  • Non-pathogenic marker: GFAP autoantibodies may reflect bystander inflammation rather than direct astrocyte damage .

  • Pathogenic role: Animal models show GFAP knockout mice develop blood-brain barrier defects and myelination abnormalities .

Therapeutic Response

  • Immunotherapy: 70–80% of GFAP-A patients improve with steroids or IVIG, though 29% exhibit residual disability (mRS > 2) .

  • Relapse predictors: Persistent CSF GFAP-IgG titers correlate with recurrence risk .

Emerging Biomarker Roles

  • Neurological co-pathologies: Elevated serum GFAP links to hippocampal sclerosis and argyrophilic grain disease independent of AD .

  • Astrocyte reactivity: Blood GFAP levels mirror post-mortem brain GFAP immunostaining, validating its use in vivo .

Product Specs

Buffer
Preservative: 0.03% Proclin 300
Constituents: 50% Glycerol, 0.01M PBS, pH 7.4
Form
Liquid
Lead Time
Made-to-order (12-14 weeks)
Synonyms
GfapGlial fibrillary acidic protein antibody; GFAP antibody
Target Names
Uniprot No.

Target Background

Function
GFAP, classified as a class-III intermediate filament, serves as a cell-specific marker. During the development of the central nervous system, it distinguishes astrocytes from other glial cells.
Gene References Into Functions
  1. This research successfully predicted and validated Gfap as an miR-3099 target gene. This was achieved through a combination of bioinformatics resources enhanced by annotations based on functional ontologies and a spatio-temporal expression dataset. PMID: 28597341
  2. The study findings indicate that autoantibodies against GFAP could serve as a predictive marker for the development of overt autoimmune diabetes. PMID: 28546444
  3. GFAP is specifically expressed in auricular chondrocytes, playing a crucial role in resisting mechanical stress. PMID: 28063220
  4. This study compared open-skull and thinned-skull imaging methods for two-photon laser microscopy of live astrocytes in the neocortex of GFAP-GFP transgenic mice. PMID: 28107381
  5. The research revealed that an Alexander disease-causing mutation alters GFAP turnover kinetics in vivo. This provides a crucial foundation for future studies aimed at preventing or reducing GFAP accumulation. PMID: 28223355
  6. Tat expression or GFAP expression led to the formation of GFAP aggregates and the induction of unfolded protein response (UPR) and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in astrocytes. PMID: 27609520
  7. This study provides evidence that the transcription of Gfap, one of the astrocyte-specific genes, is cooperatively regulated by co-expressed genes and their regulatory factors. PMID: 27041678
  8. The study demonstrated that GFAP-ApoE4 mice exhibited motor impairments when compared to GFAP-ApoE3 and wild-type mice. PMID: 26892275
  9. PINK1 deficiency causes defects in GFAP-positive astrogliogenesis during brain development. PMID: 26746235
  10. Gnasxl deficiency does not directly affect glial development in the hypothalamus. This is because Gnasxl is expressed in neurons, and Gfap-positive astrocytes and tanycytes appear normal during early postnatal stages. PMID: 27080240
  11. The induction of glial cytokine expression was sequential, aligned with active sickness behavior, and preceded increased Iba-1 or GFAP immunoreactivity after lipopolysaccharide challenge. PMID: 26470014
  12. The study provides a mechanistic link between GFAP mutations/overexpression and the symptoms in those affected with Type II Alexander disease. PMID: 26190408
  13. This study described GFAP-expressing non-myelinating Schwann cells in the lung and validated a transgenic mouse line that drives expression of cre under a GFAP promoter. PMID: 26442852
  14. The findings demonstrate that the inability to produce GFAP and Vim affects normal retinal physiology. Furthermore, the effect of IF deficiency on retinal cell survival varies depending on the underlying pathological condition. PMID: 26251181
  15. CUL4B functions as a negative regulator of GFAP expression during neural development. PMID: 26025376
  16. Astrocytes deficient in GFAP and vimentin showed decreased Notch signal sending competence and altered expression of Notch signaling pathway-related genes. PMID: 26118771
  17. The absence of GFAP, or both GFAP and vimentin, alters Alzheimer's disease-induced changes in the gene expression profile of astrocytes. This indicates a compensation for the decrease in neuronal support genes and a trend towards a higher inflammatory expression profile. PMID: 25731615
  18. Data indicate that glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) was up-regulated in satellite glial cells (SGCs) in dorsal root ganglia 14 days after streptozotocin injection. PMID: 25312986
  19. Findings demonstrate that ENT1 regulates GFAP expression and possibly astrocyte function. PMID: 25365803
  20. Data suggest that prenatal alterations in the expression of various fetal brain proteins, including down-regulation of Gfap, are associated with aberrant behavioral characteristics of transgenic mice that model autism-like behavior. PMID: 25849768
  21. The study shows that increased levels of astrocytic GFAP can contribute to increases in inter-ictal spikes. However, they do not represent a risk factor for the appearance of post-traumatic seizures, even when there is an increase in reactive gliosis. PMID: 25069089
  22. The Phactr4 signals were not associated with F-actin fibers but were closely associated with intermediate filaments such as nestin and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) fibers. PMID: 24748504
  23. This research reports an increase in glial fibrillary acidic protein expression and electron microscopic features of brain edema in rodent cerebral malaria. PMID: 24966914
  24. The absence of GFAP and vimentin in glial cells does not appear to affect the outcome after peripheral motoneuron injury but may have a significant effect on the response dynamics. PMID: 24223940
  25. Upon traumatic scratch injury to astrocytes, a calcium influx from the extracellular compartment was triggered, activating the JNK/c-Jun/AP-1 pathway and subsequently switching on GFAP. PMID: 24123203
  26. Data show that CD8 T cells reactive to glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), a protein expressed in astrocytes, drive unique aspects of inflammatory central nervous system autoimmunity. PMID: 24591371
  27. Brain levels of GFAP and Tau proteins decreased significantly at 6 h and increased considerably at 24 h after repeated blast exposures. Plasma samples exhibited a similar initial decrease and later increase over this timeframe. PMID: 23933206
  28. Data indicate that Gfapdelta is expressed in the developing mouse brain sub-ventricular zones, consistent with its described localization in the developing and adult human brain. PMID: 23991052
  29. GFAP was found to be downregulated in HSV-1 acute infection in the cornea and upregulated in the late stage, suggesting that GFAP might play a role during HSV-1 infection in the cornea. PMID: 23758602
  30. Data show that neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1)-inactivation results in a cell-autonomous increase in glial fibrillary acidic protein+ (GFAP+), but not in NG2 proteoglycan NG2+, cell proliferation in vitro. PMID: 23318450
  31. This study demonstrated that mouse models of Alexander disease exhibit significant pathology in GFAP-positive radial glia-like cells in the dentate gyrus and suffer from deficits in adult neurogenesis. PMID: 24259590
  32. These studies demonstrate that transactivation of the Gfap promoter is an early and sustained indicator of the disease process in the mouse. PMID: 23432455
  33. These data suggest that all astroglia cells in the developing and adolescent mouse brain express GFAPdelta, regardless of their neurogenic capabilities. PMID: 23285135
  34. The GFAP-stained intensity of the retinal area is increased in contralateral eyes and decreased in retinal ganglion cells of eyes with laser-induced ocular hypertension. PMID: 22583833
  35. It is postulated that glial cells with increased Gfap expression support the elongation of new neurites from retinal ganglion cells, possibly by providing a scaffold for outgrowth. PMID: 23259929
  36. GFAP expression is almost unaffected by melatonin treatment in aged mice. PMID: 22200709
  37. Differential regulation of GFAP isoforms is not involved in the reorganization of the intermediate filament network in reactive gliosis or in neurogenesis in the mouse brain. PMID: 22912745
  38. CD44-positive cells are APCs in the early postnatal cerebellum. Surviving cells gradually express glial fibrillary acidic protein GFAP), a marker for mature astrocytes, indicating that differentiation into mature astrocytes is the default for these cells. PMID: 21732075
  39. GFAP-negative astrocytes are fully inflammation-competent, displaying phenotypic heterogeneity as is commonly observed in brain astrocytes. PMID: 22072312
  40. In a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), GFAP is not necessary for the initiation of the disease. Instead, it plays modulatory roles in the progression of ALS. PMID: 21453731
  41. Treadmill exercise training decreased the expression of GFAP in the striatum of chronic Parkinsonian mice. This can partially explain the beneficial neuroprotective role of exercise in patients with Parkinson's disease. PMID: 21725169
  42. The study shows an opposing pattern of nestin and glial fibrillary acidic protein expression in the mouse hippocampus occurring in early postnatal development. This suggests that it is important for neural differentiation and positioning in the hippocampus. PMID: 21368556
  43. In the mouse, there is a slight increase in the number of GFAP positive cells in the white matter after 3 days of severe cerebral contusion trauma. PMID: 20479526
  44. Increased expression of GFAP in Muller cells of mer knockout mice occurs at P20d in the peripheral retina and P4w in the central retina. GFAP expression in Muller cells appears to be a secondary response to the loss of retinal neurons. PMID: 20497693
  45. One protein, GFAP (glial fibrillary acidic protein), was found to be elevated in the LINCL mice compared with normal controls in both isolated storage bodies and a lysosome-enriched subcellular fraction that contains storage material. PMID: 20370715
  46. The results of this study suggest that GFAP is necessary for the morphological retention and distribution of reactive astrocytes during prion disease, and that there is a GFAP-dependent function of glial filaments in reactive astrocytes. PMID: 19931516
  47. This research demonstrated for the first time that GFAPdelta is specifically expressed in radial glia and SVZ neural progenitors during human brain development. PMID: 20040497
  48. The exact expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in the trigeminal ganglion and dental pulp was investigated. PMID: 11838710
  49. Human influenza viral infection in utero alters GFAP immunoreactivity in the developing brains of neonatal mice. PMID: 12140787

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Database Links

KEGG: mmu:14580

STRING: 10090.ENSMUSP00000064691

UniGene: Mm.1239

Protein Families
Intermediate filament family
Subcellular Location
Cytoplasm.
Tissue Specificity
Brain; isoform 2 expressed at 20-fold lower level than isoform 1.

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Applications : Immunofluorescence (IF) Analysis

Sample type: cells

Review: Immunofluorescence for glial cell marker GFAP and pan-neuronal marker HuC/D in the ileal tissue sections derived from the indicated mice. Scale bar, 50 µm; arrows indicate the mucosal GFAP+ glial cells.

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