Synaptic and neuritic alterations during the progression of Alzheimer's disease.
Extensive synaptic and neuritic alterations in the neocortex and limbic system are characteristically found in Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, it is not known how early in the development of the disease these alterations occur. For the present study, we compared the synaptic and neuritic alterations among cases classified clinically and neuropathologically as early, mild and advanced AD. In early AD there was a 20% loss of synaptophysin-immunoreactive presynaptic terminals in the outer molecular layer of the hippocampal dentate gyrus (but not in the neocortex and entorhinal cortex), accompanied by increased amyloid precursor protein (APP) and Alz50 immunoreactivity in hippocampal and entorhinal cortex pyramidal neurons. These results suggest that abnormal neuronal expression of APP and cytoskeletal proteins in early stages might be involved in the mechanisms of synaptic pathology in AD.
Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla 92093-0624.
E
E
Masliah
M
M
Mallory
L
L
Hansen
R
R
DeTeresa
M
M
Alford
R
R
Terry
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000473:pathology*; D000682:Amyloid / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism; D018728:Entorhinal Cortex / Q000473:pathology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D016501:Neurites / Q000502:physiology*; D017966:Pyramidal Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology*; D016708:Synaptophysin / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism
D000682:Amyloid; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D016708:Synaptophysin