Dysfunctions of neuronal and glial intermediate filaments in disease.

[alexander disease]

Intermediate filaments (IFs ) are abundant structures found in most eukaryotic cells , including those in the nervous system . In the CNS , the primary components of neuronal IFs are alpha-internexin and the neurofilament triplet proteins . In the peripheral nervous system , a fifth neuronal IF protein known as peripherin is also present . IFs in astrocytes are primarily composed of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP ), although vimentin is also expressed in immature astrocytes and some mature astrocytes . In this Review , we focus on the IFs of glial cells (primarily GFAP ) and neurons as well as their relationship to different neurodegenerative diseases .