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Apolipoprotein E co-localizes with newly formed amyloid β-protein (Aβ) deposits lacking immunoreactivity against N-terminal epitopes of Aβ in a genotype-dependent manner

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Abstract

Different types of amyloid β-protein (Aβ)-containing plaques occur in brains of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients. Diffuse plaques seen during early stages of AD differ from neuritic plaques in later stages both with respect to the length of the Aβ peptides and the presence of other proteins, e.g., apolipoprotein-E (apoE). Since apoE is involved in Aβ transport and clearance, and the ε4-allele of the apolipoprotein-E gene (APOE) is a major risk factor for sporadic AD, it is plausible to speculate that apoE plays a pathophysiological role in the initiation of Aβ deposition. To address the issue of whether binding of apoE to Aβ is involved in initial Aβ deposition, we studied the human medial temporal lobe of 60 autopsy cases encompassing the full spectrum of AD-related pathology. In temporal lobe regions, which become involved for the first time at a given stage of β-amyloidosis, all plaques represent newly formed plaques, and these were studied with immunohistochemical methods. ApoE was present in 36 cases, and was frequently co-localized with newly formed Aβ deposits detectable with anti-Aβ42 but not with antibodies raised against N-terminal epitopes of Aβ. In 10 additional cases, immunoreactivity against apoE was completely lacking in newly formed plaques, which, at the same time, displayed immunoreactivity against N-terminal epitopes of Aβ. The failure of N-terminal epitopes of Aβ to co-localize with apoE in newly formed plaques indicates that these deposits presumably contain apoE-Aβ complexes, in which the N-terminal epitopes of Aβ are often concealed after complexing with apoE, thus preventing subsequent binding of antibodies. Moreover, apoE-positive newly formed plaques were seen more frequently in APOE ε4/4 cases than in non-APOE ε4/4 individuals, thereby underlining the potentially crucial role of apoE for the development of Aβ deposits.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the skilful technical assistance of N. Schulz. A. Biczysko, U. Fertig, M. Hütten, M. Babl, H.-U. Klatt, U. Enderlein, H. Friedrich, T. Chatsopoulos, R. Baldauf, S. A. Woodward, and S. Janik. This study was supported by DFG grants TH 624/4–1 (D.R.T.), GH 12/2–1 (E.G.), BONFOR grants O-154.0041 (D.R.T.) and O-154.0043 (D.R.T.), and NIH grant AG12411 (W.S.T.G.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuropathology, University of Bonn, Sigmund Freud Str. 25, 53127, Bonn, Germany

    Dietmar Rudolf Thal & Estibaliz Capetillo-Zarate

  2. Institute for Clinical Neuroanatomy, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, 60590, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Christian Schultz, Udo Rüb, Kelly Del Tredici, Heiko Braak & Estifanos Ghebremedhin

  3. Laboratory for Proteolytic Neuroscience, RIKEN Brain Science Institute, 351-0198, Saitama, Japan

    Takaomi C. Saido

  4. Gunma University School of Health Sciences, Maebashi, 371-8514, Gunma, Japan

    Haruyasu Yamaguchi

  5. Department of Biochemistry, Adolf Butenandt Institute, Ludwigs Maximilians University, Munich, Germany

    Christian Haass

  6. Donald W. Reynolds Center on Aging, UAMS, Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Veterans’ Affairs Medical Center, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA

    W. Sue T. Griffin

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  1. Dietmar Rudolf Thal
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Correspondence to Dietmar Rudolf Thal.

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Thal, D.R., Capetillo-Zarate, E., Schultz, C. et al. Apolipoprotein E co-localizes with newly formed amyloid β-protein (Aβ) deposits lacking immunoreactivity against N-terminal epitopes of Aβ in a genotype-dependent manner. Acta Neuropathol 110, 459–471 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00401-005-1053-1

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