Crystallin Alpha-B Overexpression as a Possible Marker of Reactive Astrogliosis in Human Cerebral Contusions.

The pathophysiology of traumatic brain injury (TBI) has not yet been fully elucidated. Crystallin alpha-B (CRYAB) is a molecular chaperone that apparently tries to stabilize the rapid thickening of the intermediate filaments of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) during the process of reactive astrogliosis in response to TBI. Previous analyses of the gene expression profile in human brain contusion tissue showed us an exacerbated CRYAB overexpression.