title: Large aggregates are the major soluble Aβ species in AD brain fractionated with density gradient ultracentrifugation.
abstract: Soluble amyloid-β (Aβ) aggregates of various sizes, ranging from dimers to large protofibrils, have been associated with neurotoxicity and synaptic dysfunction in Alzheimer's Disease (AD). To investigate the properties of biologically relevant Aβ species, brain extracts from amyloid β protein precursor (AβPP) transgenic mice and AD patients as well as synthetic Aβ preparations were separated by size under native conditions with density gradient ultracentrifugation. The fractionated samples were then analyzed with atomic force microscopy (AFM), ELISA, and MTT cell viability assay. Based on AFM appearance and immunoreactivity to our protofibril selective antibody mAb158, synthetic Aβ42 was divided in four fractions, with large aggregates in fraction 1 and the smallest species in fraction 4. Synthetic Aβ aggregates from fractions 2 and 3 proved to be most toxic in an MTT assay. In AβPP transgenic mouse brain, the most abundant soluble Aβ species were found in fraction 2 and consisted mainly of Aβ40. Also in AD brains, Aβ was mainly found in fraction 2 but primarily as Aβ42. All biologically derived Aβ from fraction 2 was immunologically discriminated from smaller species with mAb158. Thus, the predominant species of biologically derived soluble Aβ, natively separated by density gradient ultracentrifugation, were found to match the size of the neurotoxic, 80-500 kDa synthetic Aβ protofibrils and were equally detected with mAb158.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Geriatrics, Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. Dag.Sehlin@pubcare.uu.se
authors.forename: Dag
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sehlin
authors.forename: Hillevi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Englund
authors.forename: Barbro
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Simu
authors.forename: Mikael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Karlsson
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ingelsson
authors.forename: Fredrik
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nikolajeff
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lannfelt
authors.forename: Frida Ekholm
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Pettersson
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000494:pharmacology; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002458:Cell Fractionation; D002470:Cell Survival; D002499:Centrifugation, Density Gradient; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D047468:Immunoprecipitation; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D008875:Middle Aged; D016716:PC12 Cells; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D055503:Protein Multimerization; D051381:Rats; D014461:Ultracentrifugation
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D010446:Peptide Fragments; C078592:amyloid beta-protein (1-40); C075222:amyloid beta-protein (1-42)