title: Methods for the Specific Detection and Quantitation of Amyloid-β Oligomers in Cerebrospinal Fluid.
abstract: Protein misfolding and aggregation are fundamental features of the majority of neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease, frontotemporal dementia, and prion diseases. Proteinaceous deposits in the brain of the patient, e.g., amyloid plaques consisting of the amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide and tangles composed of tau protein, are the hallmarks of AD. Soluble oligomers of Aβ and tau play a fundamental role in disease progression, and specific detection and quantification of the respective oligomeric proteins in cerebrospinal fluid may provide presymptomatically detectable biomarkers, paving the way for early diagnosis or even prognosis. Several studies on the development of techniques for the specific detection of Aβ oligomers were published, but some of the existing tools do not yet seem to be satisfactory, and the study results are contradicting. The detection of oligomers is challenging due to their polymorphous and unstable nature, their low concentration, and the presence of competing proteins and Aβ monomers in body fluids. Here, we present an overview of the current state of the development of methods for Aβ oligomer specific detection and quantitation. The methods are divided in the three subgroups: (i) enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), (ii) methods for single oligomer detection, and (iii) others, which are mainly biosensor based methods.
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schuster
authors.forename: Susanne Aileen
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Funke
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000032:analysis* / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D015374:Biosensing Techniques; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D016875:tau Proteins
keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; amyloid-β oligomers; biomarkers; diagnosis; protein misfolding diseases; therapy monitoring