Skip to main content
NCBI home page
The American Journal of Pathology logoLink to The American Journal of Pathology
. 1991 Mar;138(3):699–705.

Secondary deposition of beta amyloid within extracellular neurofibrillary tangles in Alzheimer-type dementia.

H Yamaguchi 1, Y Nakazato 1, M Shoji 1, K Okamoto 1, Y Ihara 1, M Morimatsu 1, S Hirai 1
PMCID: PMC1886283  PMID: 1705753

Abstract

The hippocampal areas of 34 autopsy specimen brains from aged demented and nondemented subjects were examined using double staining of Bodian and beta protein. In 18 cases (75.5 +/- 7.4 years old), none of the extracellular neurofibrillary tangles (E-NFTs) were immunoreactive with beta protein. In 16 cases (82.9 +/- 5.4 years old), the minority of E-NFTs were immunoreactive with beta-protein antiserum. These beta-immunoreactive E-NFTs frequently appeared in the areas having senile plaques, while they were not observed in the area lacking beta-immunoreactive senile plaques. The ultrastructure of beta-immunoreactive E-NFTs revealed that they consisted of extracellular amyloid fibrils, extracellularly located bundles of paired helical filaments, astroglial processes and degenerating neurites. These findings suggest that the beta immunoreactivity of E-NFTs comes from secondary deposition of amyloid fibrils.

Full text

PDF
699

Images in this article

701Figure 1
on p.701
702Figure 2
on p.702
703Figure 3
on p.703

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Allsop D., Haga S., Bruton C., Ishii T., Roberts G. W. Neurofibrillary tangles in some cases of dementia pugilistica share antigens with amyloid beta-protein of Alzheimer's disease. Am J Pathol. 1990 Feb;136(2):255–260. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Dayan A. D. Quantitative histological studies on the aged human brain. II. Senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in senile dementia (with an appendix on their occurrence in cases of carcinoma). Acta Neuropathol. 1970;16(2):95–102. doi: 10.1007/BF00687664. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Glenner G. G., Wong C. W. Alzheimer's disease: initial report of the purification and characterization of a novel cerebrovascular amyloid protein. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1984 May 16;120(3):885–890. doi: 10.1016/s0006-291x(84)80190-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. HIRANO A., ZIMMERMAN H. M. Alzheimer's neurofibrillary changes. A topographic study. Arch Neurol. 1962 Sep;7:227–242. doi: 10.1001/archneur.1962.04210030065009. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Hyman B. T., Van Hoesen G. W., Beyreuther K., Masters C. L. A4 amyloid protein immunoreactivity is present in Alzheimer's disease neurofibrillary tangles. Neurosci Lett. 1989 Jul 3;101(3):352–355. doi: 10.1016/0304-3940(89)90559-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Joachim C. L., Morris J. H., Kosik K. S., Selkoe D. J. Tau antisera recognize neurofibrillary tangles in a range of neurodegenerative disorders. Ann Neurol. 1987 Oct;22(4):514–520. doi: 10.1002/ana.410220411. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Kang J., Lemaire H. G., Unterbeck A., Salbaum J. M., Masters C. L., Grzeschik K. H., Multhaup G., Beyreuther K., Müller-Hill B. The precursor of Alzheimer's disease amyloid A4 protein resembles a cell-surface receptor. Nature. 1987 Feb 19;325(6106):733–736. doi: 10.1038/325733a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Kitamoto T., Ogomori K., Tateishi J., Prusiner S. B. Formic acid pretreatment enhances immunostaining of cerebral and systemic amyloids. Lab Invest. 1987 Aug;57(2):230–236. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Kondo J., Honda T., Mori H., Hamada Y., Miura R., Ogawara M., Ihara Y. The carboxyl third of tau is tightly bound to paired helical filaments. Neuron. 1988 Nov;1(9):827–834. doi: 10.1016/0896-6273(88)90130-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Masters C. L., Simms G., Weinman N. A., Multhaup G., McDonald B. L., Beyreuther K. Amyloid plaque core protein in Alzheimer disease and Down syndrome. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1985 Jun;82(12):4245–4249. doi: 10.1073/pnas.82.12.4245. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Nakazato Y., Yamazaki H., Hirato J., Ishida Y., Yamaguchi H. Oligodendroglial microtubular tangles in olivopontocerebellar atrophy. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol. 1990 Sep;49(5):521–530. doi: 10.1097/00005072-199009000-00007. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Probst A., Ulrich J., Heitz P. U. Senile dementia of Alzheimer type: astroglial reaction to extracellular neurofibrillary tangles in the hippocampus. An immunocytochemical and electron-microscopic study. Acta Neuropathol. 1982;57(1):75–79. doi: 10.1007/BF00688880. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Shoji M., Hirai S., Yamaguchi H., Harigaya Y., Ishiguro K., Matsubara E. Alpha 1-antichymotrypsin is present in diffuse senile plaques. A comparative study of beta-protein and alpha 1-antichymotrypsin immunostaining in the Alzheimer brain. Am J Pathol. 1991 Jan;138(1):247–257. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Shoji M., Hirai S., Yamaguchi H., Harigaya Y., Kawarabayashi T. Amyloid beta-protein precursor accumulates in dystrophic neurites of senile plaques in Alzheimer-type dementia. Brain Res. 1990 Mar 26;512(1):164–168. doi: 10.1016/0006-8993(90)91187-l. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Wilcock G. K., Esiri M. M. Plaques, tangles and dementia. A quantitative study. J Neurol Sci. 1982 Nov;56(2-3):343–356. doi: 10.1016/0022-510x(82)90155-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Wisniewski K., Jervis G. A., Moretz R. C., Wisniewski H. M. Alzheimer neurofibrillary tangles in diseases other than senile and presenile dementia. Ann Neurol. 1979 Mar;5(3):288–294. doi: 10.1002/ana.410050311. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Yamaguchi H., Hirai S., Morimatsu M., Shoji M., Harigaya Y. Diffuse type of senile plaques in the brains of Alzheimer-type dementia. Acta Neuropathol. 1988;77(2):113–119. doi: 10.1007/BF00687420. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Yamaguchi H., Hirai S., Morimatsu M., Shoji M., Ihara Y. A variety of cerebral amyloid deposits in the brains of the Alzheimer-type dementia demonstrated by beta protein immunostaining. Acta Neuropathol. 1988;76(6):541–549. doi: 10.1007/BF00689591. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Yamaguchi H., Morimatsu M., Hirai S., Takahashi K. Alzheimer's neurofibrillary tangles are penetrated by astroglial processes and appear eosinophilic in their final stages. Acta Neuropathol. 1987;72(3):214–217. doi: 10.1007/BF00691092. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Yamaguchi H., Nakazato Y., Hirai S., Shoji M., Harigaya Y. Electron micrograph of diffuse plaques. Initial stage of senile plaque formation in the Alzheimer brain. Am J Pathol. 1989 Oct;135(4):593–597. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Yamaguchi H., Nakazato Y., Hirai S., Shoji M. Immunoelectron microscopic localization of amyloid beta protein in the diffuse plaques of Alzheimer-type dementia. Brain Res. 1990 Feb 5;508(2):320–324. doi: 10.1016/0006-8993(90)90416-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The American Journal of Pathology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Investigative Pathology

RESOURCES