GLIAL FIBRILLARY ACIDIC PROTEIN - REGULATION BY HORMONES, CYTOKINES, AND GROWTH-FACTORS

Levels of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), an astrocyte-specifi c intermediate filament protein, are altered during development and ag ing, GFAP also responds dynamically to neurodegenerative lesions. Chan ges in GFAP expression can occur at both transcriptional and translati onal levels. Modulators of GFAP expression include steroids, cytokines , and growth factors. GFAP expression also shows brain region-specific responses to sex steroids and of astrocyte-neuronal interactions. The 5'-upstream sequences of rat, mouse, and human are compared for the p resence of response elements that are candidates for transcriptional r egulation of GFAP. We propose that the regulation of the GFAP gene has evolved a system of controls that allow integrated responses to neuro endocrine and inflammatory modulators.