Buffy coats from 4 members of a family with Alzheimer''s disease and 2 genetically unrelated healthy subjects were inoculated into the hamster brain. Eighteen months after the inoculation, the brains were studied by immunostaining with antibodies against neurofilaments, tau, ubiquitin, and paired-helical filaments (PHF) as well as by electron microscopy. Vacuolar or spongioform degeneration was minimum. Intense positive staining by antibodies against neurofilament 200K protein was demonstrated in neuronal perikarya of the lower brain stem nucleus in the hamster inoculated with the buffy coats from the 2 patients with Alzheimer''s disease and 2 children of the patient, which was not observed in the hamster brain inoculated with the buffy coat from the control subjects. Electron microscopy revealed intracytoplasmic accumulation of 10-nm neurofilament-like fibers. The accumulated neurofilaments were positively stained by antitau and antiubiquitin, but not by anti-PHF. The neurons containing massive intracytoplasmic neurofilament accumulation resembled ballooned neurons in some degenerative diseases including Alzheimer''s disease. The results indicate that the buffy coat obtained from the patients and members of a family with Alzheimer''s disease contains a factor which produces intracytoplasmic accumulation of neurofilament-like fibers in neurons of the lower brain stem nuclei.

Keywords:
Alzheimer's disease, Buffy coat, Neurofilament, Tau, Ubiquitin, Paired helical filament
This content is only available via PDF.
© 1991 S. Karger AG, Basel
1991
Copyright / Drug Dosage / Disclaimer
Copyright: All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be translated into other languages, reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, microcopying, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Drug Dosage: The authors and the publisher have exerted every effort to ensure that drug selection and dosage set forth in this text are in accord with current recommendations and practice at the time of publication. However, in view of ongoing research, changes in government regulations, and the constant flow of information relating to drug therapy and drug reactions, the reader is urged to check the package insert for each drug for any changes in indications and dosage and for added warnings and precautions. This is particularly important when the recommended agent is a new and/or infrequently employed drug.
Disclaimer: The statements, opinions and data contained in this publication are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of the publishers and the editor(s). The appearance of advertisements or/and product references in the publication is not a warranty, endorsement, or approval of the products or services advertised or of their effectiveness, quality or safety. The publisher and the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to persons or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content or advertisements.
You do not currently have access to this content.