Direct determination of the proportion of intra- and extra-cellular neocortical neurofibrillary tangles in Alzheimer's disease.
We investigated the cellular localisation of neurofibrillary tangles in Alzheimer's disease. All tau-positive tangles were stained for thioflavine S, while approximately 84% of thioflavine S-stained tangles were tau-immunolabelled. Approximately 58-62% and 73-76% of thioflavine S- and tau-labelled tangles, respectively, were present within cortical neurons labelled for microtubule-associated protein-2. Thus, most neocortical tangles in Alzheimer's disease are intracellular and may not be the principal cause of neocortical cell loss.
Vickers
James C
JC
Discipline of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Tasmania, 43 Collins St, GPO Box 252-29, Tasmania Hobart 7001, Australia. james.vickers@utas.edu.au
Tan
Adeline
A
Dickson
Tracey C
TC
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D052160:Benzothiazoles; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006801:Humans; D002479:Inclusion Bodies / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D019579:Neocortex / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D016874:Neurofibrillary Tangles / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009474:Neurons / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D058225:Plaque, Amyloid / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D013844:Thiazoles / Q000378:metabolism; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
D052160:Benzothiazoles; D008869:Microtubule-Associated Proteins; D013844:Thiazoles; D016875:tau Proteins; C009462:thioflavin T