title: Enhanced expression of 14-3-3 proteins in reactive astrocytes in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease brains.
abstract: 14-3-3 proteins have been reported to be detected specifically in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from patients with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). To elucidate the role of 14-3-3 proteins in patients with CJD, we performed immunohistochemical studies on 14-3-3 proteins in autopsied brains from five patients with sporadic CJD (sCJD), three patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), and seven normal control subjects. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections from all cases were immunostained with several types of specific anti-14-3-3 antibodies. In the normal control brains, 14-3-3 immunoreactivity was localized mainly in the neuronal somata and processes; in contrast, glial cells showed no or faint immunoreactivity. In the brains from the patients with AD, 14-3-3 immunoreactivity was observed in the surviving neurons as well as some neurofibrillary tangles. In the brains from the patients with sCJD, 14-3-3 immunoreactivity was well preserved in the remaining neurons. Furthermore, the glial cells, especially the reactive astrocytes, were intensely immunostained in the brains affected by sCJD. Our findings suggest that 14-3-3 proteins may be up-regulated in the glial cells, particularly in reactive astrocytes, and that the enhanced expression of 14-3-3 proteins in these glial elements may be associated with the pathogenesis of sCJD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University, 54 Shogoin-Kawaharacho, Sakyoku, 606-8507 Kyoto, Japan. kawamoto@kuhp.kyoto-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kawamoto
authors.forename: Ichiro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Akiguchi
authors.forename: Christa
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jarius
authors.forename: Herbert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Budka
mesh_terms: D048948:14-3-3 Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D007562:Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016874:Neurofibrillary Tangles / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D048948:14-3-3 Proteins