Central Nervous System

By Emily Cartwright, PhD

Vimentin is a fundamental 10 nm type III intermediate filament (IF) protein found in many mesenchymal and epithelia tissues, tissue culture cells, and developing neuronal and astrocytic precursor cells of the central nervous system.

Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is the main intermediate filament protein in mature astrocytes, but also an important component of the cytoskeleton in astrocytes during development. Recent developments using GFAP antibodies in astrocyte biology, and the discovery of novel intermediate filament functions, have enticed interest in the function of GFAP.