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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2016 Jun 1.
Published in final edited form as: Trends Neurosci. 2015 May 11;38(6):364–374. doi: 10.1016/j.tins.2015.04.003

Figure 5. Release of GFAP and GFAP-BDP into biofluid as acute CNS injury biomarker.

Figure 5

(Left) List of neuro-diseases and disorders in which GFAP and/or GFAP-BDP is released into biofluid. (Right) Schematic showing how GFAP BDP is generated after TBI and how both GFAP-BDP and to a lesser extent intact GFAP are released into interstitial fluid (ISF)/extracellular fluid. From there, these proteins diffused into the subarachnoid CSF [113]. GFAP-BDP/GFAP then either drain directly into the veins (glymphatic pathway, dashed arrows) or continue to follow the CSF flow through the ventricles and then enter the circulation by diffusing through the BBB. Blood-based GFAP and GFAP-BDP can be detected as a biomarker, but they also can serve as autoantigen, triggering autoantibody response in a subset of patients.