title: Activities of key glycolytic enzymes in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: The activities of hexokinase, aldolase, pyruvate kinase, lactate dehydrogenase and glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase were determined in brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and in age matched controls. For pyruvate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase a significant increase in specific activity was found in frontal and temporal cortex of AD brains, while the activities of aldolase and hexokinase are not changed. Glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity was significantly reduced in hippocampus. The increase of some glycolytic enzyme activities is correlated with increased contents of lactate dehydrogenase and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in homogenates of frontal and temporal cortex and elevated phosphofructokinase (PFK) and GFAP in astrocytes from the same brain areas. The data extend previous findings on an increase in brain PFK specific activity in AD and suggest that the increased activity of some glycolytic enzymes may be, at least in part, the result of the reactive astrocytosis developing in the course of AD.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, University of Leipzig, Federal Republic of Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bigl
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Brückner
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Arendt
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bigl
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Eschrich
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D001344:Autopsy; D001921:Brain / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000201:enzymology; D005634:Fructose-Bisphosphate Aldolase / Q000378:metabolism; D005954:Glucosephosphate Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism; D006019:Glycolysis; D006593:Hexokinase / Q000378:metabolism; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000201:enzymology; D006801:Humans; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D009928:Organ Specificity; D011770:Pyruvate Kinase / Q000378:metabolism; D012016:Reference Values; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000201:enzymology
chemical_list: D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase; D005954:Glucosephosphate Dehydrogenase; D006593:Hexokinase; D011770:Pyruvate Kinase; D005634:Fructose-Bisphosphate Aldolase