title: Ultrastructure of neurofibrillary tangles in Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: The ultrastructure of neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) was examined by electron microscopy. The fibrils of NFT seemed to consists of about eight protofilaments consisting of globular subunits; these protofilaments were helically wound in a longitudinal direction. The fibrils of NFT had hollow structures at their centers surrounded by the eight globular subunits. The subunits were tightly connected in the narrow parts of the fibril, but more loosely connected in the wider parts. From these findings, it seemed that the fibrils of NFT consist of a twisted tubule having periodical constrictions and is made up of eight helically wound protofilaments, forming globular subunits.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kumamoto University Medical School, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Miyakawa
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Katsuragi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Araki
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hashimura
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kuramoto
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D009454:Neurofibrils / Q000648:ultrastructure*