Is GFAP specific for astrocytes?

Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is expressed exclusively in astrocytes in the central nervous system.

What is CBA promoter?

The cytomegalovirus (CMV) early enhancer/promoter and the hybrid CMV enhancer/chicken β-actin (CBA) promoter are commonly used in gene transfer studies with both therapeutic and reporter genes. These promoters are typically used to provide robust, long-term expression in all cell types.

What is GFAP a marker for?

GFAP antibodies are the most popular marker for astrocytes in neurological studies and along with its breakdown products (BDPs), GFAP has been proposed as a useful candidates for biofluid-based markers for numerous neurological conditions especially during traumatic brain/spinal cord injury and stroke [1].

What is the function of GFAP?

The GFAP gene provides instructions for making a protein called glial fibrillary acidic protein. This protein is a member of the intermediate filament family of proteins. Intermediate filaments form networks that provide support and strength to cells.

Why is AAV used in gene therapy?

AAV, or adeno-associated virus, is currently the main viral vector that researchers use and further develop for gene therapy because it is considered to be non-pathogenic to humans and because it has been successfully altered to prevent its integration into the genome, thus eliminating DNA damage and unpredictable …

What is the gfaabc 1 D promoter?

The GfaABC 1 D promoter is a compact GFAP promoter with the size of 694 bp. It was derived from the conventional 2.2 kb human GFAP promoter [ 9] by deleting 5′ nucleotides −2163 to −1758 and an internal segment from −1255 to −133.

What is gfaabc1d (B) 3?

The GFaABC1D (B)3 promoter, hereafter called G1B3, was then digested with BamHI, treated with Klenow to generate blunt ends (Sigma Aldrich, Switzerland), and cloned into Spe/blunt-digested SIN-cPPT-gateway-WPRE-miR124T transfer vector [ 24 ].

Does intrastriatal injection of gfaabc1d enhance gene transfer?

We found that this delivery strategy significantly enhanced gene transfer, resulting in a widespread distribution of the vector in large areas of the brain following intrastriatal injection. The GfaABC1D promoter was kindly provided by Dr. Michael Brenner through the support of NIH grant NS39055 [ 22, 23 ].

Can aav5-gfap/gfaabc 1 d be used as a potential gene therapy vector?

Thus, AAV5-GFAP/GfaABC 1 D carries the potential as a potential gene therapy vector, particularly for transducing astrocytes in the damaged spinal cord. Once considered passive framework cells, glial cells are now known to be key responders to central nervous system (CNS) injury and equal the number of neurons in the adult human brain [ 1, 2 ].