The Multifaceted S100B Protein: Physiological or Pathogenic Factor, Biomarker, Therapeutic Target
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Biochemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 January 2023) | Viewed by 6050
Special Issue Editors
Interests: neurodegeneration; neuroinflammation; multiple sclerosis; amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; animal models of neural diseases; neural biomarkers; calcium-binding neuroproteins; S100B protein
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: apoptosis; oxidative stress; nutraceutical
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: neurodegeneration; neuroinflammation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
S100B is a calcium-binding protein mainly expressed by astrocytes in the nervous system, but also localized in other definite neural and extra-neural cell types, including adipocytes which constitute an intriguing site of concentration for the protein. Its intracellular biological role is still debated. When secreted, S100B has paracrine/autocrine trophic effects at physiological concentrations, but toxic effects at higher concentrations, behaving as a Danger/Damage-Associated Molecular Pattern (DAMP) molecule which, mainly through its Receptor for Advanced Glycation Endproducts (RAGE),triggers tissue reaction to damage.
Elevated S100B levels in biological fluids are thus regarded as a reliable biomarker of pathological conditions affecting the nervous system, but also other districts. In the majority of these conditions, high S100B levels offer an indicator of cell damage when standard diagnostic procedures are still silent. Although the wide spectrum of neural and extra neural diseases in which the protein is involved reduces its specificity, its levels remain an important aid in monitoring the trend of the disorder.
Growing evidence also indicates that high tissue levels of S100B are suggestive of pathogenic processes in different neural and extra-neural disorders. Indeed, modulation of S100B levels correlates with the occurrence of clinical and/or toxic parameters in experimental models of diseases. In general, over-expression/administration of the protein induces a worse clinical presentation whereas its deletion/inactivation causes the improvement of the disease. This scenario reasonably proposes S100B not only as a reliable marker but also as a pathogenic factor of neural, and also extra-neural, diseases, and, as a consequence, as a therapeutic target for these disorders, also offering new clues to individuate possible unexpected connections.
Another novel scenario opens the possibility that S100B, secreted by enteroglial cells, may participate in the functional/pathogenic interaction(s) between enteric nervous system and gut microbiota.
This special issue welcomes research/review papers addressing this multifaceted still challenging protein, together with its receptor(s) and similar co-operating proteins. We feel that converging studies proposing different novel views may offer information useful to individuate a clue to clarify its physiological/pathogenic role(s), and its putative availability as a therapeutic target.
Prof. Dr. Fabrizio Michetti
Dr. M. Elisabetta Clementi
Dr. Gabriele Di Sante
Guest Editors
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