T cell response to amyloid-beta and to mitochondrial antigens in Alzheimer's disease.
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.
Giubilei
Franco
F
Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Rome La Sapienza, Viale Dell'Università 30, I-00185 Rome, Italy. franco.giubilei@uniroma1.it
Antonini
Giovanni
G
Montesperelli
Chiara
C
Sepe-Monti
Micaela
M
Cannoni
Stefania
S
Pichi
Alessandra
A
Tisei
Paolo
P
Casini
Anna Rosa
AR
Buttinelli
Carla
C
Prencipe
Massimiliano
M
Salvetti
Marco
M
Ristori
Giovanni
G
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*
D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D001324:Autoantigens; D010446:Peptide Fragments; C075222:amyloid beta-protein (1-42)