Figure 3.

Lactadherin expression in brain temporal sections of patients with or without AD. A–E: Representative immunohistochemical staining of lactadherin protein expression in brain specimens of patients with AD (B–E) or controls (A). A: Staining for lactadherin (green) showing expression in cells with astrocyte morphology. B: Lactadherin appears in green and GFAP staining in red. C–E: Lactadherin appears in brown (arrows) and Aβ staining in pink/red (arrowheads). Note that lactadherin-expressing cells are negative for Aβ staining. F: Relation between lactadherin expression and the occurrence of senile plaques. Brain temporal sections of patients with AD were double-stained with lactadherin and Aβ (n = 6 patients). Three Aβ-positive and three Aβ-negative areas were identified in each patient, in which the mean intensity of lactadherin staining was estimated using a semiquantitative immunohistochemical score (0, no staining; 1, weak staining; 2, moderate; 3, strong). The histograms show the mean ± SD scores from six patients. Clearly, lactadherin expression occurred preferentially in Aβ-free areas.