title: Distribution of amyloid beta 42 in relation to the cerebral microvasculature in an elderly cohort with Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: Amyloid beta (A beta) deposits and neurofibrillary pathology are characteristic features of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The association of A beta with cerebral vessels is an intriguing feature of AD. While some degree of cerebral A beta angiopathy involving the leptomeninges and intraparenchymal vessels occurs in almost all cases of AD, the proportion of microvessels within a neocortical region containing deposits of A beta peptide is not known. In this study, we examined a cohort of clinically and pathologically evaluated AD cases to assess the percentage of cerebral microvessels in the temporal cortex and parahippocampal gyrus associated with the predominant, A beta 42 form of the peptide. We also assessed whether the distribution and burden of amyloid was related to apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype. Using double immunostaining methods, we surprisingly found that at least 40% of the microvessels in the two brain regions contained A beta 42 deposits. There was no correlation of such localization with APOE genotype, however, epsilon 4 homozygotes revealed a greater burden of A beta 40. These observations suggest that high proportions of cortical microvessels are associated with A beta 42, which may affect microvascular function.
authors.affiliation: Wolfson Research Centre, Newcastle General Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. a.j.thomas@ncl.ac.uk
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.forename: I N
authors.initials: IN
authors.lastname: Ferrier
authors.forename: R N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Kalaria
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000483:Alleles; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000032:analysis*; D053327:Apolipoprotein E4; D001057:Apolipoproteins E / Q000235:genetics; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation; D015331:Cohort Studies; D018891:Dentate Gyrus / Q000098:blood supply / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008833:Microcirculation / Q000473:pathology*; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000032:analysis*; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D053327:Apolipoprotein E4; D001057:Apolipoproteins E; D010446:Peptide Fragments; C075222:amyloid beta-protein (1-42)