title: A beta40 is a major form of beta-amyloid in nonhuman primates.
abstract: Because aged nonhuman primates show beta-amyloid (A beta) deposition in senile plaques and blood vessels similar to that seen in human aging and AD, we used C-terminal specific antibodies to A beta40 and A beta42 to investigate A beta peptide length in the brains of 11 aged rhesus monkeys and a 59-year-old chimpanzee. In contrast to AD, where the earliest and most prominent form of A beta in senile plaques is A beta42, in the monkey, A beta40-positive plaques predominated. The ratio of A beta40:A beta42-positive plaques averaged 2.08 in the monkey, as compared to a mean ratio of 0.37 in 68 human AD subjects (p < 0.001). A beta40 was also more prominent in the chimpanzee than in humans. Possible explanations for these findings include species differences in the cleavage of A beta from the amyloid precursor protein or in the activity of a putative carboxy peptidase forming A beta40 from A beta42 in situ.
authors.affiliation: VA Medical Center and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30033, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gearing
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tigges
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Mirra
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000254:growth & development; D001923:Brain Chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D008297:Male; D002679:Pan troglodytes; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000378:metabolism*; D011323:Primates / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D010446:Peptide Fragments; C078592:amyloid beta-protein (1-40)