Alzheimer's disease: glycolytic pretreatment dramatically enhances immunolabeling of senile plaques and cerebrovascular amyloid substance.
In Alzheimer's disease, three types of pathologic lesions are stained by thioflavin: neurofibrillary tangles, senile plaques, and amyloidaceous vessels. We have used anti-beta protein amyloid A4 and anti-tau protein antisera and compared immunolabeling with thioflavin staining. Anti-tau detected only neurofibrillary tangles; anti-beta-PA4 immunostained senile plaques and amyloidaceous vessels. Glycolytic pretreatment (2% periodic acid overnight or glycosidases digestion) dramatically enhanced the anti-beta-PA4 immunolabeling of senile plaques, amyloidaceous vessels, and a previously undetected extracellular substance; neurofibrillary tangles were never immunostained. Therefore, glycolytic pretreatment exposes buried epitopes in the amyloid and is a good method for amplification of immunostaining. The nature of the interaction between saccharides and beta-protein amyloid A4 is unknown.
Behrouz
N
N
Unité INSERM 156, Laboratoire d'Histologie, Lille, France.
Defossez
A
A
Delacourte
A
A
Hublau
P
P
Mazzuca
M
M
D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D000682:Amyloid / Q000032:analysis*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000032:analysis* / Q000473:pathology; D006026:Glycoside Hydrolases / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D009454:Neurofibrils / Q000032:analysis*; D010504:Periodic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D013194:Staining and Labeling
D000682:Amyloid; D010504:Periodic Acid; D006026:Glycoside Hydrolases