Induction of heme oxygenase-1 mRNA and protein in neocortex and cerebral vessels in Alzheimer's disease.
Previous studies demonstrated the specific association of heme oxygenase (HO)-1 protein to the neurofibrillary pathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, we used reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction methods to show the increased expression of HO-1 but not HO-2 mRNA transcripts in cerebral cortex and cerebral vessels from subjects with AD compared with age-matched non-AD controls. Neither the HO-1 nor the HO-2 mRNA levels was altered in the cerebellum, a brain region usually spared from the pathological alterations of AD. There was no clear evidence that the expression of HO-1 in these tissues was related to postmortem interval, cause of death, or the age of the subjects studied. Using immunoblotting methods, we further showed that HO-1 protein content was increased in neocortical and vascular samples from AD subjects compared with controls. Our findings suggest the specific induction of HO-1 mRNA and protein in the cerebral cortex and cerebral vessels but not HO-2 mRNA or protein in association with the pathological lesions of the disease.
Premkumar
D R
DR
Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA.
Smith
M A
MA
Richey
P L
PL
Petersen
R B
RB
Castellani
R
R
Kutty
R K
RK
Wiggert
B
B
Perry
G
G
Kalaria
R N
RN
D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000201:enzymology*; D001483:Base Sequence; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply*; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000201:enzymology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000201:enzymology*; D015870:Gene Expression; D006419:Heme Oxygenase (Decyclizing) / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase
D012333:RNA, Messenger; D006419:Heme Oxygenase (Decyclizing); D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase