Alzheimer Disease: Ginsberg SD

Mufson EJ, Counts SE, Perez SE, Ginsberg SD. · Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. · Expert Rev Neurother. · Pubmed #18986241 No free full text.

Abstract: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by a progressive phenotypic downregulation of markers within cholinergic basal forebrain (CBF) neurons, frank CBF cell loss and reduced cortical choline acetyltransferase activity associated with cognitive decline. Delaying CBF neurodegeneration or minimizing its consequences is the mechanism of action for most currently available drug treatments for cognitive dysfunction in AD. Growing evidence suggests that imbalances in the expression of NGF, its precursor proNGF and the high (TrkA) and low (p75(NTR)) affinity NGF receptors are crucial factors underlying CBF dysfunction in AD. Drugs that maintain a homeostatic balance between TrkA and p75(NTR) may slow the onset of AD. A NGF gene therapy trial reduced cognitive decline and stimulated cholinergic fiber growth in humans with mild AD. Drugs treating the multiple pathologies and clinical symptoms in AD (e.g., M1 cholinoceptor and/or galaninergic drugs) should be considered for a more comprehensive treatment approach for cholinergic dysfunction.

Ginsberg SD, Che S, Counts SE, Mufson EJ. · Center for Dementia Research, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA. · NeuroRx. · Pubmed #16815214 No free full text.

Abstract: Development and implementation of microarray techniques to quantify expression levels of dozens to hundreds to thousands of transcripts simultaneously within select tissue samples from normal control subjects and neurodegenerative diseased brains has enabled scientists to create molecular fingerprints of vulnerable neuronal populations in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related disorders. A goal is to sample gene expression from homogeneous cell types within a defined region without potential contamination by expression profiles of adjacent neuronal subpopulations and nonneuronal cells. The precise resolution afforded by single cell and population cell RNA analysis in combination with microarrays and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR)-based analyses allows for relative gene expression level comparisons across cell types under different experimental conditions and disease progression. The ability to analyze single cells is an important distinction from global and regional assessments of mRNA expression and can be applied to optimally prepared tissues from animal models of neurodegeneration as well as postmortem human brain tissues. Gene expression analysis in postmortem AD brain regions including the hippocampal formation and neocortex reveals selectively vulnerable cell types share putative pathogenetic alterations in common classes of transcripts, for example, markers of glutamatergic neurotransmission, synaptic-related markers, protein phosphatases and kinases, and neurotrophins/neurotrophin receptors. Expression profiles of vulnerable regions and neurons may reveal important clues toward the understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of various neurological diseases and aid in identifying rational targets toward pharmacotherapeutic interventions for progressive, late-onset neurodegenerative disorders such as mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and AD.

Galvin JE, Ginsberg SD. · Alzheimer Disease Research Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63108,USA. · Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord. · Pubmed #15592143 No free full text.

Abstract: Expression profiling data is available for many diverse tissues throughout the body, allowing for exciting hypothesis testing of critical concepts such as cellular development, differentiation, normative function, and disease pathogenesis. The central nervous system is an ideal structure to evaluate relationships between functional genomics and expression data. Recent developments in gene array technologies, specifically cDNA microarray platforms, have made it easier to try to understand the multiplicity of gene alterations that occur within the brains of animal models and postmortem human tissues. However, unlike structures have one principal cell type, the brain contains diverse populations of phenotypically distinct cell types. A goal of modern molecular and cellular neuroscience is to assay gene expression from homogeneous populations of cells within a defined region without potential contamination by expression profiles of adjacent neuronal subtypes and non-neuronal cells. This is a difficult task that demands a multidisciplinary approach that is highlighted in this review within the context of neurodegenerative pathology.

Counts SE, Perez SE, Ginsberg SD, De Lacalle S, Mufson EJ. · Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, 2242 West Harrison Street, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. · Mol Interv. · Pubmed #14993421 links to  free full text

Abstract: Galanin (GAL) and GAL receptors (GALR) are overexpressed in limbic brain regions associated with cognition in Alzheimer disease (AD). The functional consequences of this overexpression are unclear. Because GAL inhibits cholinergic transmission and restricts long-term potentiation in the hippocampus, GAL overexpression may exacerbate clinical features of AD. In contrast, GAL expression increases in response to neuronal injury, and galaninergic hyperinnervation prevents the decreased production of protein phosphatase 1 subtype mRNAs in cholinergic basal forebrain neurons in AD. Thus, GAL may also be neuroprotective for AD. Further elucidation of GAL activity in selectively vulnerable brain regions will help gauge the therapeutic potential of GALR ligands for the treatment of AD.

Mufson EJ, Ginsberg SD, Ikonomovic MD, DeKosky ST. · Department of Neurological Sciences and Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, Tech 2000, 2242 West Harrison St., Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. · J Chem Neuroanat. · Pubmed #14729126 No free full text.

Abstract: The human cholinergic basal forebrain (CBF) is comprised of magnocellular hyperchromic neurons within the septal/diagonal band complex and nucleus basalis (NB) of Meynert. CBF neurons provide the major cholinergic innervation to the hippocampus, amygdala and neocortex. They play a role in cognition and attentional behaviors, and are dysfunctional in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The human CBF displays a continuum of large cells that contain various cholinergic markers, nerve growth factor (NGF) and its cognate receptors, calbindin, glutamate receptors, and the estrogen receptors, ERalpha and ERbeta. Admixed with these cholinergic neuronal phenotypes are smaller interneurons containing the m2 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChRs), NADPH-diaphorase, GABA, calcium binding proteins and several inhibitory neuropeptides including galanin (GAL), which is over expressed in AD. Studies using human autopsy material indicate an age-related dissociation of calbindin and the glutamate receptor GluR2 within CBF neurons, suggesting that these molecules act synergistically to induce excitotoxic cell death during aging, and possibly during AD. Choline acetyltrasnferease (ChAT) activity and CBF neuron number is preserved in the cholinergic basocortical system and up regulated in the septohippocampal system during prodromal as compared with end stage AD. In contrast, the number of CBF neurons containing NGF receptors is reduced early in the disease process suggesting a phenotypic silence and not a frank loss of neurons. In end stage AD, there is a selective reduction in trkA mRNA but not p75(NTR) in single CBF cells suggesting a neurotrophic defect throughout the progression of AD. These observations indicate the complexity of the chemoanatomy of the human CBF and suggest that multiple factors play different roles in its dysfunction in aging and AD.

Ikonomovic MD, Wecker L, Abrahamson EE, Wuu J, Counts SE, Ginsberg SD, Mufson EJ, Dekosky ST. · Department of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. · Arch Neurol. · Pubmed #19433665 No free full text.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To examine alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) binding and beta-amyloid (Abeta) peptide load in superior frontal cortex (SFC) across clinical and neuropathological stages of Alzheimer disease (AD). DESIGN: Quantitative measures of alpha7 nAChR by [(3)H]methyllycaconitine binding and Abeta concentration by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in SFC were compared across subjects with antemortem clinical classification of no cognitive impairment, mild cognitive impairment, or mild to moderate AD, and with postmortem neuropathological diagnoses. SETTING: Academic medical center. Subjects Twenty-nine elderly retired clergy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Quantitative measures of alpha7 nAChR binding and Abeta peptide concentration in SFC. RESULTS: Higher concentrations of total Abeta peptide in SFC were associated with clinical diagnosis of mild to moderate AD (P = .02), lower Mini-Mental State Examination scores (P = .003), presence of cortical Abeta plaques (P = .02), and likelihood of AD diagnosis by the National Institute on Aging-Reagan criteria (P = .002). Increased alpha7 nAChR binding was associated with National Institute on Aging-Reagan diagnosis (P = .02) and, albeit weakly, the presence of cortical Abeta plaques (P = .08). There was no correlation between the 2 biochemical measures. CONCLUSIONS: These observations suggest that during the clinical progression from normal cognition to neurodegenerative disease state, total Abeta peptide concentration increases while alpha7 nAChRs remain relatively stable in SFC. Regardless of subjects' clinical status, however, elevated alpha7 nAChR binding is associated with increased Abeta plaque pathology, supporting the hypothesis that cellular expression of these receptors may be upregulated selectively in Abeta plaque-burdened brain areas.

Levine S, Saltzman A, Levy E, Ginsberg SD. · Center for Dementia Research, Nathan S. Kline Institute, 140 Old Orangeburg Road, Orangeburg, NY 10962, USA. · Exp Mol Pathol. · Pubmed #19041304 No free full text.

Abstract: Down's syndrome (DS) in humans is caused by trisomy of chromosome 21 (HSA 21). DS patients have a variety of pathologies, including mental retardation and an unusually high incidence of leukemia or lymphoma such as megakaryocytic leukemia. Individuals with DS develop the characteristic neuropathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in early adulthood, generally by the fourth decade of life. There are several mouse models of DS that have a segmental trisomy of mouse chromosome 16 (MMU 16) with triplicated genes orthologous to HSA 21. These mice display neurodegeneration similar to DS. Although brain pathology in DS models is known, little information is available about other organs. We studied the extraneural pathology in aged DS mice (Ts65Dn, Ts2 and Ts1Cje aged 8 to 24 months) as well as other mouse models of neurodegeneration, including presenilin (PS), amyloid-beta precursor protein (APP), and tau (hTau and JNPL) transgenic mice. An increased incidence of peripheral amyloidosis, positive for amyloid A (AA) but not amyloid-beta peptide (A beta), was found in APP over-expressing and tauopathic mice as compared to non-transgenic (ntg) littermates or to DS mouse models. A higher incidence of lymphoma was found in the DS models, including Ts1Cje that is trisomic for a small segment of MMU 16 not including the App gene, but not in the APP over-expressing mice, suggesting that high APP expression is not the cause of lymphoma in DS. The occurrence of lymphomas in mouse DS models is of interest in relation to the increased incidence of malignant conditions in human DS.

Alldred MJ, Che S, Ginsberg SD. · Center for Dementia Research, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, NY 10962, United States. · J Neurosci Methods. · Pubmed #19026688 No free full text.

Abstract: Terminal continuation (TC) RNA amplification was developed originally to reproducibly and inexpensively amplify RNA. The TC RNA amplification method has been improved further by obviating second strand DNA synthesis, a cost-effective protocol that takes less time to perform with fewer manipulations required for RNA amplification. Results demonstrate that TC RNA amplification without second strand synthesis does not differ from the original protocol using RNA harvested from mouse brain and from hippocampal neurons obtained via laser capture microdissection from postmortem human brains. The modified TC RNA amplification method can discriminate single cell gene expression profiles between normal control and Alzheimer's disease hippocampal neurons indistinguishable from the original protocol. Thus, TC RNA amplification without second strand synthesis is a reproducible, time- and cost-effective method for RNA amplification from minute amounts of input RNA, and is compatible with microaspiration strategies and subsequent microarray analysis as well as quantitative real-time PCR.

Counts SE, He B, Che S, Ginsberg SD, Mufson EJ. · Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Ill. 60612, USA. · Neurodegener Dis. · Pubmed #18322398 No free full text.

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Fibers containing galanin (GAL) enlarge and hyperinnervate cholinergic basal forebrain (CBF) nucleus basalis (NB) neurons in late-stage Alzheimer's disease (AD), yet the physiological consequences of this phenomenon are unclear. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether GAL hyperinnervation of cholinergic NB neurons modulates the expression of genes critical to cholinergic transmission [e.g. acetylcholine (ACh) metabolism and ACh receptors] in AD. METHODS: Single-cell gene expression profiling was used to compare cholinergic mRNA levels in non-GAL-hyperinnervated NB neurons in tissue autopsied from cases classified as having no cognitive impairment (NCI) or late-stage AD (AD/GAL-) and in GAL-hyperinnervated (AD/GAL+) NB neurons from the same AD subjects. RESULTS: AD/GAL+ cells displayed a significant upregulation in choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) mRNA expression compared to NCI and AD/GAL- cells. CONCLUSION: GAL fiber hyperinnervation of cholinergic NB neurons upregulates the expression of ChAT, the synthetic enzyme for ACh, suggesting that GAL regulates the cholinergic tone of CBF neurons in AD.

Counts SE, He B, Che S, Ikonomovic MD, DeKosky ST, Ginsberg SD, Mufson EJ. · Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. · Arch Neurol. · Pubmed #18071042 links to  free full text

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Dysfunction of basocortical cholinergic projection neurons of the nucleus basalis (NB) correlates with cognitive deficits in Alzheimer disease (AD). Nucleus basalis neurons receive cholinergic inputs and express nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) and muscarinic AChRs (mAChRs), which may regulate NB neuron activity in AD. Although alterations in these AChRs occur in the AD cortex, there is little information detailing whether defects in nAChR and mAChR gene expression occur in cholinergic NB neurons during disease progression. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether nAChR and mAChR gene expression is altered in cholinergic NB neurons during the progression of AD. DESIGN: Individual NB neurons from subjects diagnosed ante mortem as having no cognitive impairment (NCI), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or mild to moderate AD were analyzed by single-cell AChR expression profiling via custom-designed microarrays. SETTING: Academic research. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were members of the Rush Religious Orders Study cohort. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction was performed to validate microarray findings. RESULTS: Cholinergic NB neurons displayed a statistically significant up-regulation of alpha7 nAChR messenger RNA expression in subjects with mild to moderate AD compared with those with NCI and MCI (P<.001). No differences were found for other nAChR and mAChR subtypes across the cohort. Expression levels of alpha7 nAChRs were inversely associated with Global Cognitive Score and with Mini-Mental State Examination performance. CONCLUSIONS: Up-regulation of alpha7 nAChRs may signal a compensatory response to maintain basocortical cholinergic activity during AD progression. Alternatively, putative competitive interactions of this receptor with beta-amyloid may provide a pathogenic mechanism for NB dysfunction. Increasing NB alpha7 nAChR expression may serve as a marker for the progression of AD.

Ginsberg SD, Che S, Wuu J, Counts SE, Mufson EJ. · Center for Dementia Research, Nathan Kline Institute, New York University School of Medicine, Orangeburg, USA. · J Neurochem. · Pubmed #16539663 No free full text.

Abstract: Dysfunction of cholinergic basal forebrain (CBF) neurons of the nucleus basalis (NB) is a cardinal feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and correlates with cognitive decline. Survival of CBF neurons depends upon binding of nerve growth factor (NGF) with high-affinity (trkA) and low-affinity (p75(NTR)) neurotrophin receptors produced within CBF neurons. Since trkA and p75(NTR) protein levels are reduced within CBF neurons of people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and mild AD, trkA and/or p75(NTR) gene expression deficits may drive NB degeneration. Using single cell expression profiling methods coupled with custom-designed cDNA arrays and validation with real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) and in situ hybridization, individual cholinergic NB neurons displayed a significant down regulation of trkA, trkB, and trkC expression during the progression of AD. An intermediate reduction was observed in MCI, with the greatest decrement in mild to moderate AD as compared to controls. Importantly, trk down regulation is associated with cognitive decline measured by the Global Cognitive Score (GCS) and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). In contrast, there is a lack of regulation of p75(NTR) expression. Thus, trk defects may be a molecular marker for the transition from no cognitive impairment (NCI) to MCI, and from MCI to frank AD.

Ginsberg SD, Che S, Counts SE, Mufson EJ. · Center for Dementia Research, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, New York 10962, USA. · J Neurochem. · Pubmed #16478530 No free full text.

Abstract: Molecular mechanisms underlying tauopathy remain undetermined. In the current study, single cell gene expression profiling was coupled with custom-designed cDNA array analysis to evaluate tau expression and other cytoskeletal elements within individual neuronal populations in patients with no cognitive impairment (NCI), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Results revealed a shift in the ratio of three-repeat tau (3Rtau) to four-repeat tau (4Rtau) mRNAs within individual human cholinergic basal forebrain (CBF) neurons within nucleus basalis (NB) and CA1 hippocampal neurons during the progression of AD, but not during normal aging. A shift in 3Rtau to 4Rtau may precipitate a cascade of events in the selective vulnerability of neurons, ultimately leading to frank neurofibrillary tangle (NFT) formation in tauopathies including AD.

Counts SE, Chen EY, Che S, Ikonomovic MD, Wuu J, Ginsberg SD, Dekosky ST, Mufson EJ. · Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. · Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. · Pubmed #16410678 No free full text.

Abstract: Galanin (GAL)-containing fibers enlarge and hyperinnervate remaining cholinergic basal forebrain (CBF) neurons within the anterior nucleus basalis (NB) in late-stage Alzheimer's disease (AD). Whether GAL hypertrophy occurs in the CBF in the prodromal or early stages of AD remains unknown. The present study used GAL immunohistochemistry and an unbiased semiquantitative scoring method to evaluate GAL innervation in the anterior NB of subjects clinically diagnosed as having no cognitive impairment, mild cognitive impairment or early-stage (mild/moderate) AD. There was no difference in GAL fiber staining within the anterior NB across the three clinical groups examined. Furthermore, GAL fiber innervation was not correlated with the number of NB neurons expressing the nerve growth factor receptors p75(NTR) or TrkA or with cortical choline acetyltransferase activity in the same cases. Single-cell gene expression analysis demonstrated that cholinergic NB neurons express mRNA for the GAL receptors GALR1, GALR2 and GALR3, yet the levels of these mRNAs were unchanged across the three diagnostic groups. These observations indicate that GAL hypertrophy within the anterior NB subfield is a late-stage AD response, which may play a role in regulating the cholinergic tone of remaining basocortical projection neurons.

Counts SE, Nadeem M, Wuu J, Ginsberg SD, Saragovi HU, Mufson EJ. · Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. · Ann Neurol. · Pubmed #15455399 No free full text.

Abstract: Degeneration of cholinergic nucleus basalis (NB) cortical projection neurons is associated with cognitive decline in late-stage Alzheimer's disease (AD). NB neuron survival is dependent on coexpression of the nerve growth factor (NGF) receptors p75(NTR) and TrkA, which bind NGF in cortical projection sites. We have shown previously a significant reduction of NB perikarya expressing p75(NTR) and TrkA protein during the early stages of AD. Whether there is a concomitant reduction in cortical levels of these receptors during the progression of AD is unknown. p75(NTR) and TrkA protein was evaluated by quantitative immunoblotting in five cortical regions (anterior cingulate, superior frontal, superior temporal, inferior parietal, and visual cortex) of individuals clinically diagnosed with no cognitive impairment (NCI), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), mild/moderate AD, or severe AD. Cortical p75(NTR) levels were stable across the diagnostic groups. In contrast, TrkA levels were reduced approximately 50% in mild/moderate and severe AD compared with NCI and MCI in all regions except visual cortex. Mini-Mental Status Examination scores correlated with TrkA levels in anterior cingulate, superior frontal, and superior temporal cortex. The selective reduction of cortical TrkA levels relative to p75(NTR) may have important consequences for cholinergic NB function during the transition from MCI to AD.

Mufson EJ, Counts SE, Ginsberg SD. · Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. · Neurochem Res. · Pubmed #12462403 No free full text.

Abstract: Cholinergic neurons of the nucleus basalis (NB) are selectively vulnerable in Alzheimer's disease (AD), yet the molecular mechanisms associated with their dysfunction remain unknown. We used single cell RNA amplification and custom array technology to examine the expression of functional classes of mRNAs found in anterior NB neurons from normal aged and AD subjects. mRNAs encoding neurotrophin receptors, synaptic proteins, protein phosphatases, and amyloid-related proteins were evaluated. We found that trkB and trkC mRNAs were selectively down-regulated in NB neurons, whereas p75NTR mRNA levels remained stable in end stage AD. TrkA mRNA was reduced by approximately 28%, but did not reach statistical significance. There was a down-regulation of synaptophysin, synaptotagmin, and protein phosphatases PP1alpha and PP1beta mRNAs in AD. In contrast, we found a selective up-regulation of cathepsin D mRNA in NB neurons in AD brain. Thus, anterior NB neurons undergo selective alterations in gene expression in AD. These results may provide clues to the molecular pathogenesis of NB neuronal degeneration during AD.

Ginsberg SD, Hemby SE, Lee VM, Eberwine JH, Trojanowski JQ. · Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia 19104-4283, USA. · Ann Neurol. · Pubmed #10894219 No free full text.

Abstract: The pathogenesis of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is poorly understood, but changes in the expression of specific messenger RNAs (mRNAs) may reflect mechanisms underlying the formation of NFTs and their consequences in affected neurons. For these reasons, we compared the relative abundance of multiple mRNAs in tangle-bearing versus normal CA1 neurons aspirated from sections of AD and control brains. Amplified antisense RNA expression profiling was performed on individual isolated neurons for analysis of greater than 18,000 expressed sequence tagged complementary DNAs (cDNAs) with cDNA microarrays, and further quantitative analyses were performed by reverse Northern blot analysis on 120 selected mRNAs on custom cDNA arrays. Relative to normal CA1 neurons, those harboring NFTs in AD brains showed significant reductions in several classes of mRNAs that are known to encode proteins implicated in AD neuropathology, including phosphatases/kinases, cytoskeletal proteins, synaptic proteins, glutamate receptors, and dopamine receptors. Because cathepsin D mRNA was upregulated in NFT-bearing CA1 neurons in AD brains, we performed immunohistochemical studies that demonstrated abundant cathepsin D immunoreactivity in the same population of tangle-bearing CA1 neurons. In addition, levels of mRNAs encoding proteins not previously implicated in AD were reduced in CA1 tangle-bearing neurons, suggesting that these proteins (eg, activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein, focal adhesion kinase, glutaredoxin, utrophin) may be novel mediators of NFT formation or degeneration in affected neurons. Thus, the profile of mRNAs differentially expressed by tangle-bearing CA1 neurons may represent a "molecular fingerprint" of these neurons, and we speculate that mRNA expression profiles of diseased neurons in AD may suggest new directions for AD research or identify novel targets for developing more effective AD therapies.

Ginsberg SD, Galvin JE, Lee VM, Rorke LB, Dickson DW, Wolfe JH, Jones MZ, Trojanowski JQ. · Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia 19104-4283, USA. · J Neuropathol Exp Neurol. · Pubmed #10446806 No free full text.

Abstract: To evaluate whether in vivo accumulations of heparan sulfate caused by inborn errors in the metabolism of glycosaminoglycans lead to the formation of neurofibrillary tangles and/or senile plaques, as seen in Alzheimer disease (AD), we studied postmortem brains from 9 patients, ages 1 to 42 years, with mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS). The brains of patients with Hurler's syndrome (MPS I: n = 5) and Sanfilippo's syndrome (MPS III; n = 4) as well as from caprine MPS IIID and murine MPS VII models were evaluated by thioflavine-S staining and by immunohistochemistry using antibodies directed against heparan sulfate proteoglycans, hyperphosphorylated tau, amyloid-beta peptide precursor proteins (APP), and amyloid-beta peptides (A beta [1-40], and A beta [1-42]). A two-site sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was also utilized to compare levels of total soluble and insoluble A beta (1-40) and A beta (1-42) obtained from temporal cortex of MPS patients. Although no neurofibrillary tangles, senile plaques, or tau-positive lesions were detected in any of the MPS brains studied here, antibodies directed against A beta (1-40) intensely and diffusely stained the cytoplasm of cells throughout the brains of the MPS patients and the caprine MPS model. The ELISA assay also demonstrated a significant 3-fold increase in the level of soluble A beta (1-40) in the MPS brains compared with normal control brains. Thus, at least some of the metabolic defects that lead to accumulations of glycosaminoglycans in MPS also are associated with an increase in immunoreactive A beta (1-40) within the cytoplasmic compartment where they could contribute to the dysfunction and death of affected cells in these disorders, but not induce the formation of plaques and tangles. Models of MPS may enable mechanistic studies of the role A beta and glycosaminoglycans play in the amyloidosis that is a neuropathological feature of AD.

Ginsberg SD, Crino PB, Hemby SE, Weingarten JA, Lee VM, Eberwine JH, Trojanowski JQ. · Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia 19104-4283, USA. · Ann Neurol. · Pubmed #9989619 No free full text.

Abstract: The sequestration of RNA in Alzheimer's disease (AD) senile plaques (SPs) and the production of intraneuronal amyloid-beta peptides (Abeta) prompted analysis of the mRNA profile in single immunocytochemically identified SPs in sections of AD hippocampus. By using amplified RNA expression profiling, polymerase chain reaction, and in situ hybridization, we assessed the presence and abundance of 51 mRNAs that encode proteins implicated in the pathogenesis of AD. The mRNAs in SPs were compared with those in individual CA1 neurons and the surrounding neuropil of control subjects. The remarkable demonstration here, that neuronal mRNAs predominate in SPs, implies that these mRNAs are nonproteinaceous components of SPs, and, moreover, that mRNAs may interact with Abeta protein and that SPs form at sites where neurons degenerate in the AD brain.