Interest in neurofilaments has risen sharply in recent years with recognition of their potential as biomarkers of brain injury or neurodegeneration in CSF and blood. This is in the context of a growing appreciation for the complexity of the neurobiology of neurofilaments, new recognition of specialized roles for neurofilaments in synapses and a developing understanding of mechanisms responsible for their turnover. Here we will review the neurobiology of neurofilament proteins, describing current understanding of their structure and function, including recently discovered evidence for their roles in synapses. We will explore emerging understanding of the mechanisms of neurofilament degradation and clearance and review new methods for future elucidation of the kinetics of their turnover in humans. Primary roles of neurofilaments in the pathogenesis of human diseases will be described. With this background, we then will review critically evidence supporting use of neurofilament concentration measures as biomarkers of neuronal injury or degeneration. Finally, we will reflect on major challenges for studies of the neurobiology of intermediate filaments with specific attention to identifying what needs to be learned for more precise use and confident interpretation of neurofilament measures as biomarkers of neurodegeneration.

中文翻译：

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神经丝：生物标志物应用的神经生物学基础。

近年来，随着人们认识到它们作为脑损伤或脑脊液和血液中神经退行性变的生物标志物的潜力，人们对神经丝的兴趣急剧增加。这是在对神经丝的神经生物学复杂性的日益认识、对神经丝在突触中的特殊作用的新认识以及对负责其周转的机制的不断理解的背景下。在这里，我们将回顾神经丝蛋白的神经生物学，描述目前对其结构和功能的理解，包括最近发现的关于它们在突触中作用的证据。我们将探索对神经丝降解和清除机制的新认识，并审查未来阐明其在人类体内周转动力学的新方法。将描述神经丝在人类疾病发病机制中的主要作用。在此背景下，我们将审查支持使用神经丝浓度测量作为神经元损伤或退化的生物标志物的重要证据。最后，我们将反思中间丝神经生物学研究的主要挑战，特别注意确定需要学习什么才能更精确地使用和自信地解释神经丝测量作为神经退行性变的生物标志物。