Characterization of Alzheimer paired helical filaments by electron microscopy.
We show how electron microscopy can be used to answer several critical issues in neurodegenerative disorders that course with the formation of aberrant filamentous structures. Thus, electron microscopy is a useful technique to study in vitro assembly of pathogenic proteins, to map the regions involved in filament formation, as well as to detect by immunoelectron microscopy which proteins bind to the filaments. Furthermore, electron microscopy is the main technique used to discover if an animal model develops fibrillar pathology and if those filaments are similar to those found in human patients. This review focuses on Alzheimer's disease and related tauopathies, although similar studies have been done with other neurodegenerative disorders as, for example, Huntington's disease.
Hernández
Félix
F
Centro de Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa," Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049 Spain.
Engel
Tobias
T
Gómez-Ramos
Alberto
A
Pérez
Mar
M
Avila
Jesús
J
D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008854:Microscopy, Electron / Q000379:methods; D016874:Neurofibrillary Tangles / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
D016875:tau Proteins