title: Human serum transthyretin levels correlate inversely with Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the fastest growing neurodegenerative disease in the elderly population, and the search for therapeutic targets and diagnostic AD biomarkers is an exigent issue. Because amyloid-β (Aβ) aggregation constitutes the epicenter of AD pathology, Aβ-binding proteins that regulate Aβ aggregation, such as transthyretin (TTR), have attracted much attention. TTR binds to Aβ, prevents its aggregation, and consequently inhibits Aβ-induced cellular toxicity. Decreased TTR levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from AD patients suggest that TTR is a biomarker of AD. But, studies on TTR as a biomarker have focused on CSF; no study has evaluated peripheral levels of TTR in AD. Here, we examined the relationship between serum TTR levels and AD. We measured TTR levels in serum samples from 90 nondemented controls and 111 AD patients and observed significantly lower serum TTR levels in AD (p < 0.001). Notably, females in the control group had lower serum TTR levels compared with male in the control (p = 0.006), while no difference in gender was noted in the AD group. There were no age-related changes in serum TTR levels. Thus, this study demonstrates a clear negative correlation between serum TTR levels and AD, suggesting that TTR is not only involved in AD pathological process but also suggested as possible peripheral biomarker for AD diagnosis in serum level.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Science, Seoul National University, College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sun-Ho
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Eun Sun
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Ji-Hoon
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Sohn
authors.forename: Hyun Joo
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Hyun Seok
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Jong Won
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Duk Lyul
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Na
authors.forename: Manho
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hee
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hee Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Ha
authors.forename: Young Ho
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Namjung
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Huh
authors.forename: Min Whan
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Inhee
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mook-Jung
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011228:Prealbumin / Q000378:metabolism*; D012727:Sex Characteristics
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D011228:Prealbumin