title: Characterisation of an antibody relevant to the neuropathology of Alzheimer disease.
abstract: The specificity of BR88, a polyclonal antibody we raised against amino acids 1-12 of beta/A4 (beta-amyloid protein), has been reexamined in view of a claim made that it cross-reacts with tau-protein, probably the sole component of the paired helical filaments of Alzheimer disease. We have used enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, immunoblots, and immunohistochemistry, together with appropriate controls, to show that BR88 does not cross-react with tau. This contradicts the claim in question and confirms our previous findings in which BR88 was used to show that some tangle-bearing cells displayed the N-terminus of beta/A4 on their surfaces. The conclusions formed in that earlier work therefore remain intact.
authors.affiliation: MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, University of Cambridge, England.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jakes
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Harrington
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Spillantini
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goedert
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Klug
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000276:immunology; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor / Q000276:immunology*; D000906:Antibodies / Q000276:immunology*; D000918:Antibody Specificity / Q000276:immunology; D001921:Brain / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D003429:Cross Reactions; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor; D000906:Antibodies; D016875:tau Proteins