Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) chitotriosidase concentration reflects microglial activation in the spinal cord of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Chitin is a long-chain insoluble carbohydrate polymer that is one of the most abundant organic materials in the biosphere, second only to cellulose.1 It occurs as a key structural molecule in the exoskeleton of invertebrates and cell walls of fungi. It builds up the shells of oysters and clams. Its durable properties are the subject of intense study in biotechnology and materials science. There has been a long-standing assumption that chitin plays no role in vertebrate biology, but this is starting to change; expression of chitin in vertebrate tissues has been verified, and potential biological functions of the polymer in higher organisms are just being unravelled.1
Chitinases constitute a widely expressed family of hydrolases that cleave chitins. Insects produce chitinases to facilitate moulting. Micro-organisms produce them to digest nutrients. The function...
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