title: Isolation and biochemical characterization of amyloid plaques and paired helical filaments.
abstract: Extracellular deposits of amyloid fibrils in the form of parenchymal plaques and cerebrovascular lesions, as well as intracellular accumulation of paired-helical filaments in the form of neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) in selected neuronal populations are the main neuropathologic hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease. Amyloid fibrils composed of polymeric structures of the amyloid-beta (Abeta) concentrate at the center of senile plaques and accumulate in the walls of cerebral blood vessels, exhibiting extensive Congo red/thioflavin S staining. Intraneuronal NFT are composed of building blocks of aberrantly hyperphosphorylated species of the microtubule-associated protein tau, which accumulate in the perinuclear cytoplasm of vulnerable neurons in the form of paired helical filaments (PHF). This unit presents a variety of protocols for the isolation, biochemical analysis, and characterization of amyloid fibrils and neurofibrillary tangles.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, New York University, New York, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Agueda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rostagno
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ghiso
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000378:metabolism*; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D002458:Cell Fractionation / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008853:Microscopy / Q000379:methods*; D016874:Neurofibrillary Tangles / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides