title: T cell response to amyloid-beta and to mitochondrial antigens in Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: Despite the vast amount of literature on non-specific immune mechanisms in Alzheimer's disease (AD), little is known about the role of antigen-specific immune responses. We investigated T cell reactivity to fragment 1-42 of amyloid-beta (Abeta) and to N-terminal peptides of human mitochondrial and control microbial proteins. Thirty subjects with a diagnosis of probable AD according to NINCDS-ADRDA criteria and 30 sex- and age-matched healthy controls were enrolled. T cell responses to Abeta fragment showed no significant differences between AD patients and controls. By contrast, the mean number of positive T cell responses to both human mitochondrial and microbial peptides was significantly decreased in AD patients compared to control subjects. No significant correlation was found between T cell responses and both the severity of cognitive impairment and duration of the disease. Our results suggest that antigen-specific immune responses are impaired in AD. Protective immune responses to harmful amyloidogenic substances may also be impaired, thus favoring their accumulation in the brain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Rome La Sapienza, Viale Dell'Università 30, I-00185 Rome, Italy. franco.giubilei@uniroma1.it
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Giubilei
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Antonini
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Montesperelli
authors.forename: Micaela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sepe-Monti
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cannoni
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pichi
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tisei
authors.forename: Anna Rosa
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Casini
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Buttinelli
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Prencipe
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Salvetti
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ristori
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000276:immunology*; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000276:immunology*; D000686:Amyloidosis / Q000276:immunology; D001324:Autoantigens / Q000276:immunology; D001921:Brain / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000276:immunology*; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D001324:Autoantigens; D010446:Peptide Fragments; C075222:amyloid beta-protein (1-42)