A Neuronal Antigen in the Brains of Alzheimer Patients

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 1986-05, Vol.232 (4750), p.648-650
• Main Authors: Wolozin, Benjamin L., Pruchnicki, Alex, Dickson, Dennis W., Davies, Peter
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alzheimer Disease - immunology; Alzheimer's disease; Alzheimers disease; Amyloid plaque; Antibodies; Antibodies, Monoclonal - immunology; Antigens; Antigens - immunology; Antigens - isolation & purification; Brain; Brain - cytology; Brain - immunology; Cerebral Cortex - cytology; Cerebral Cortex - immunology; Choline O-Acetyltransferase - immunology; Cholinergics; Chromatography, Gel; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Epitopes; Hippocampus - cytology; Hippocampus - immunology; Humans; Intermediate Filaments - immunology; Medical research; Microtubule-Associated Proteins - immunology; Molecular Weight; Monoclonal antibodies; Nerve Tissue Proteins - immunology; Nerve Tissue Proteins - isolation & purification; Neurology; Neurons; Neurons - immunology; Proteins; Reactivity; tau Proteins
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.3083509

A monoclonal antibody was prepared against pooled homogenates of brain tissue from patients with Alzheimer's disease. This antibody recognizes an antigen present in much higher concentration in certain brain regions of Alzheimer patients than in normal brain. The antigen appears to be a protein present in neurons involved in the formation of neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, and in some morphologically normal neurons in sections from Alzheimer brains. Partial purification and Western blot analysis revealed the antigen from Alzheimer brain to be a single protein with a molecular weight of 68,000. Application of the same purification procedure to normal brain tissue results in the detection of small amounts of a protein of lower molecular weight.