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. 1991 Dec;139(6):1245–1250.

Alzheimer's amyloid precursor protein-positive degenerative neurites exist even within kuru plaques not specific to Alzheimer's disease.

T Ohgami 1, T Kitamoto 1, A Weidmann 1, K Beyreuther 1, J Tateishi 1
PMCID: PMC1886475  PMID: 1684265

Abstract

To clarify the relationship between amyloid formation and amyloid precursor protein (APP), the brain sections from eight patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and four with Gerstmann-Sträussler Syndrome (GSS) were investigated immunohistochemically by the double-immunostaining method. In AD, most APP-positive senile plaques belong to classical plaques or primitive plaques, whereas in diffuse plaques, APP-positive neuritic components are rarely observed. The authors documented that anti-APP-labeled degenerative neurites surrounding kuru plaques in all four GSS patients. These kuru plaques were verified by double immunostaining using anti-prion protein and anti-APP. The APP-positive structures in kuru plaques were almost identical with those seen in the classical plaques in AD. The authors concluded that APP-positive degenerative neurites are not an early event in the amyloid formation of senile plaques. It is therefore postulated that depositions of beta/A4 and prion proteins are primary events that may involve the surrounding microenvironment and result in the secondary formation of APP-positive degenerative neurites, not specific to AD.

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