Ar. Aldred et al., THE CEREBRAL EXPRESSION OF PLASMA-PROTEIN GENES IN DIFFERENT SPECIES, Comparative biochemistry and physiology. B. Comparative biochemistry, 111(1), 1995, pp. 1-15
The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) contains the same proteins as blood plas
ma, but with a different pattern of concentrations, Protein concentrat
ions in CSF are much lower than those in blood, CSF proteins are deriv
ed from blood or synthesized within the brain, The choroid plexus is a
n important source of CSF proteins, Transthyretin is the protein most
abundantly synthesized and secreted by choroid plexus, It determines t
he distribution of thyroxine in the cerebral compartment, Synthesis of
transthyretin first evolved in the brain, then later it became a plas
ma protein synthesized in the liver, Other proteins secreted by choroi
d plexus are serum retinol-binding protein, transferrin, caeruloplasmi
m, insulin-like growth factors, insulin-like growth factor binding pro
teins, cystatin C, alpha(1)-antichymotrypsin, alpha(2)-macroglobulin,
prothrombin, beta(2)-microglobulin and prostaglandin D synthetase. Spe
cies differences in expression of the genes for these proteins are out
lined, and their developmental pattern, regulation and roles in the ce
rebral extracellular compartment are discussed.