title: [S100B: astrocyte specific protein].
abstract: The S100B is a Ca2+ binding proteins of EF-hand type and is produced primarily by astrocytes in the central nervous system. This protein has been implicated in the Ca2+-dependent regulation of a variety of intracellular functions such as protein phosphorylation, enzyme activities, cell proliferation and differentiation, dynamics of cytoskeleton constituents, structural organization of membranes, intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis, inflammation, and protection from oxidative cell damage. Recent studies suggest that released S100B exerts paracrine and autocrine effects on neurons and glia. On the other hand, elevations of S100B levels in blood or cerebrospinal fluid have been observed in patients with Alzheimer's disease, Down's syndrome, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, schizophrenia, depression, cerebral stroke and traumatic brain injury, and the levels have reached micromol/L-order at focal regions. It has been documented that the excessive S100B promotes the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase or pro-inflammatory cytokines and exhibits detrimental effects on neurons. On studies using some animal models of the cerebral stroke or Alzheimer's disease, it is suggested that the excessive S100B produced by activated astrocytes precedes neurodegenerations. Authors discussed the relationship between neurological disorders and the S100B.
authors.affiliation: Minase Research Institute, Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., 3-1-1 Sakurai, Shimamoto, Mishima-gun, Osaka, 618-8585 Japan. tateishi@ono.co.jp
authors.forename: Narito
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tateishi
authors.forename: Taiji
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shimoda
authors.forename: Nobumichi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yada
authors.forename: Rika
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shinagawa
authors.forename: Yoshifumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kagamiishi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000737:chemistry; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000097:blood / Q000502:physiology*; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D064568:S100 Calcium Binding Protein beta Subunit; D009418:S100 Proteins / Q000097:blood / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D064568:S100 Calcium Binding Protein beta Subunit; D009418:S100 Proteins; C579160:S100B protein, human; C579158:S100b protein, rat