S100 Calcium Binding Protein B/S100B

S100-B, is an acidic protein with a molecular weight of 21 kDa belonging to the S100 family. S100-B contains two EF-hand-type calcium-binding motifs separated by a hinge region with a hydrophobic cleft. S100-B plays an important role in neurodevelopment, differentiation, and brain construction. S100-B has neuroprotective effects, but at high concentrations S100-B is neurotoxic. Extracellular concentration of S100-B increases following brain damage, which easily penetrates into cerebrospinal fluid in brain damage and then into the blood. S100-B is expressed and produced by astrocytes in vertebrate brains and in the CNS, and the astrocytes are the major cells producing S100-B protein in gray matter, as well as oligodendrocytes are the predominant S100-B in protein producing cells in white matter. The major advantage of using S100-B is that elevations in serum or CSF levels provide a sensitive measure for determining CNS injury at the molecular level before gross changes develop, enabling timely delivery of crucial medical intervention before irreversible damage occurs. In addition, S100-B, which is also present in Mouse melanocytes, is a reliable marker for melanoma malignancy both in bioptic tissue and in serum.