TY - JOUR
T1 - Molecular features of hypothalamic plaques in Alzheimer's disease
AU - Standaert, D. G.
AU - Lee, V. M.Y.
AU - Greenberg, B. D.
AU - Lowery, D. E.
AU - Trojanowski, J. Q.
PY - 1991
Y1 - 1991
N2 - The pathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) involves subcortical as well as cortical structures. The authors have used immunohistochemical methods to study the molecular composition of AD plaques in the hypothalamus. In contrast to previous studies using histochemical methods, the authors observed large numbers of diffuse plaques in the AD hypothalamus labeled with an antiserum to the β-amyloid, or A4 peptide, of the β-amyloid precursor proteins (βAPPs), whereas A4-immunoreactive plaques were uncommon in the hypothalamus of patients without AD. Unlike plaques in the cortex and hippocampus of AD patients, hypothalamic plaques did not contain epitopes corresponding to other regions of the βAPPs, nor did they contain tau-, neurofilament-, or microtubule-associated protein-reactive epitopes, and did not disrupt the neuropil or produce astrogliosis. These findings demonstrate that there are substantial molecular and cellular differences in the pathologic features of AD in the hypothalamus compared with those observed in hippocampal and cortical structures, which may provide insight into the pathogenetic mechanisms of AD.
AB - The pathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) involves subcortical as well as cortical structures. The authors have used immunohistochemical methods to study the molecular composition of AD plaques in the hypothalamus. In contrast to previous studies using histochemical methods, the authors observed large numbers of diffuse plaques in the AD hypothalamus labeled with an antiserum to the β-amyloid, or A4 peptide, of the β-amyloid precursor proteins (βAPPs), whereas A4-immunoreactive plaques were uncommon in the hypothalamus of patients without AD. Unlike plaques in the cortex and hippocampus of AD patients, hypothalamic plaques did not contain epitopes corresponding to other regions of the βAPPs, nor did they contain tau-, neurofilament-, or microtubule-associated protein-reactive epitopes, and did not disrupt the neuropil or produce astrogliosis. These findings demonstrate that there are substantial molecular and cellular differences in the pathologic features of AD in the hypothalamus compared with those observed in hippocampal and cortical structures, which may provide insight into the pathogenetic mechanisms of AD.
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M3 - Article
C2 - 1653521
AN - SCOPUS:0025858595
SN - 0002-9440
VL - 139
SP - 681
EP - 691
JO - American Journal of Pathology
JF - American Journal of Pathology
IS - 3
ER -