Alzheimer's disease untangled

The nanometer-scale structure of amyloid-beta visualized by atomic force microscopy

Amyloid-beta (A beta) is the major protein component of neuritic plaques found in Alzheimer's disease. Evidence suggests that the physical aggregation state of A beta directly influences neurotoxicity and specific cellular biochemical events. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is used to investigate the three-dimensional structure of aggregated A beta and characterize aggregate/fibril size, structure, and distribution. Aggregates are characterized by fibril length and packing densities. The packing densities correspond to the differential thickness of fiber aggregates along a zeta axis (fiber height above the x-y imaging surface). Densely packed aggregates ( > or = 100 nm thick) were observed. At the edges of these densely packed regions and in dispersed regions, three types of A beta fibrils were observed. These were classified by fibril thickness into three size ranges: 2-3 nm thick, 4-6 nm thick, and 8-12 nm thick. Some of the two thicker classes of fibrils exhibited pronounced axial periodicity. Substructural features observed included fibril branching or annealing and a height periodicity which varied with fibril thickness. When identical samples were visualized with AFM and electron microscopy (EM) the thicker fibrils (4-6 nm and 8-12 nm thick) had similar morphology. In comparison, the densely packed regions of approximately > or = 100 nm thickness observed by AFM were difficult to resolve by EM. The small, 2- to 3-nm-thick, fibrils were not observed by EM even though they were routinely imaged by AFM. These studies demonstrate that AFM imaging of A beta fibrils can, for the first time, resolve nanometer-scale, zeta-axis, surface-height (thickness) fibril features. Concurrent x-y surface scans of fibrils reveal the surface submicrometer structure and organization of aggregated A beta. Thus, when AFM imaging of A beta is combined with, and correlated to, careful studies of cellular A beta toxicity it may be possible to relate certain A beta structural features to cellular neurotoxicity.

Amyloid precursor protein gene expression in neural cell lines: influence of DNA cytosine methylation

Transcription of the gene encoding amyloid precursor protein (APP) varies in a cell-specific and developmentally regulated manner. The 5' region of this gene possesses a high frequency of CpG dinucleotides as well as copies of a GC-rich sequence, a potential trans factor binding element. These findings raise the possibility that DNA cytosine methylation could participate in the regulation of APP gene expression. We examined APP mRNA/18S rRNA ratio in three neural cell lines (N18TG2, SN6, SN17) cultured in 5-azacytidine (5-AZA), an inhibitor of maintenance methylase which results in loss of cytosine methylation in proliferating cells. Culture in 5-AZA globally reduced methylation in genomic DNA as assessed by an increase in HpaII restriction sites, reduced cytosine methylation in the APP gene as assessed by Southern blotting of HpaII digests, and increased APP mRNA steady state abundance in all studied cell lines. Cell lines re-acquired APP gene methylation 48 h after removal of 5-AZA from media. These results indicate that in vitro alteration of DNA methylation can affect APP gene expression, and suggest that the APP gene in neuronal cell lines may be rapidly inactivated in vitro, perhaps to neutralize its potential toxicity.

Use of neuropathological tissue for molecular genetic studies: parameters affecting DNA extraction and polymerase chain reaction

Nuclear and mitochondrial DNA were extracted from gray matter of human cerebral cortex which had either been formalin-fixed and embedded into paraffin or stored in formalin for up to 26 years. Extraction conditions were optimized for proteinase K digestion, i.e., enzyme concentration, digestion temperature and incubation time. Using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), DNA was successfully amplified from archival material and sequenced employing a direct nonradioactive cycle sequencing protocol. In general, tissue embedded into paraffin following brief fixation in formalin gave good quantitative results, i.e., up to 1 microgram DNA/mg tissue were extracted. This yield was at least one order of magnitude higher than that obtained with tissue stored in formalin. However, paraffin-embedded neuropathological material was found to contain an as-yet-unidentified PCR inhibitor, and a deleterious effect of long-term fixation in unbuffered low-grade formalin was clearly detectable. Importantly, both paraffin-embedded tissue blocks and human brain that had been stored in formalin for many years yielded DNA sufficient for qualitative analysis. The implications of these findings for the use of neuropathological material in molecular genetic studies are discussed.

Molecular basis and diagnosis of neurogenetic disorders

Over the past few years, molecular neurogenetics has developed into one of the most promising and active research fields. The new discipline applies modern molecular genetic techniques to the investigation of classical neurological disorders. In the following article, a definition of neurogenetic disease is introduced, the molecular basis of four groups of neurogenetic disorders is described and recent diagnostic developments are presented. The first group of diseases is caused by trinucleotide expansions. "Expanding" trinucleotide repeats were not known to occur in any species until about three years ago. Today, disorders such as Huntington's disease, spinocerebellar ataxia type 1, fragile X mental retardation, spinobulbar muscular atrophy and myotonic dystrophy are all known to be caused by the expansion of trinucleotides. The second group is characterized by chromosomal deletions or uniparental disomies. Lissencephaly and the Miller-Dieker syndrome, Prader-Willi and Angelman syndromes and Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies belong to this category. The third group includes those neurogenetic disorders that are mainly caused by point mutations such as the X-linked leukodystrophies, including Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease and adrenoleukodystrophy, Charcot-Marie-Tooth syndrome type 1, familial forms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, several types of craniosynostoses and some CNS tumor syndromes. Finally, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease are discussed as representatives of group four, i.e. genetically heterogeneous neurological disorders.

Potential beta PP-processing proteinase activities from Alzheimer's and control brain tissues

Fluorogenic peptide substrates designed to encompass the reported alpha-secretory and amyloidogenic cleavage sites of the amyloid-beta precursor protein (beta PP) were used to analyze proteinase activities in brain extracts from control patients and those with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Activity against the secretory substrate at pH 7.5 in control and AD brains produced a major endopeptidase cleavage at the Lys687-Leu688 bond (beta PP770 numbering), consistent with the beta PP secretase cleavage. Activity in control brains against the amyloidogenic substrate at pH 7.5 produced one cleavage at the Ala673-Glu674 bond, two residues C-terminal to the amyloidogenic Met-Asp site. However, in three of four AD brains, the major cleavage was at the Asp-Ala bond, one residue from the amyloidogenic site. Both endopeptidase and carboxypeptidase activities in AD brains were lower than in control brains. Proteinase activities against the secretory substrate had a major optimum at pH 3.0-4.0 and another at pH 6.0-7.5. Proteinase activities against the amyloidogenic substrate had a major optimum at or below pH 3.0 and another at pH 6.0. Using both substrates, activities at low pH were higher in AD-brains than in controls, while at pH above 6.5, activities in control brains were higher than in AD. These results indicate that the levels of proteolytic enzymes in AD brains are altered relative to controls.

Staining of cerebral amyloid plaque glycoproteins in patients with Alzheimer's disease with the microglia-specific lectin from mistletoe

Glycoconjugates in the amyloid plaques in the cerebral cortex of patients with Alzheimer's disease were stained with a lectin from mistletoe (ML-I). This lectin selectively stains microglial cells which can be found in the centre of many plaques. Since the terminal carbohydrate moieties of some but not all of the plaques, which mainly consist of beta A4 protein, are identical to those of the microglial cells it is concluded that glycoproteins within these plaques have been synthesised by the microglial cell. These microglia deposited glycoproteins may be of importance for the formation of mature amyloid plaques.

Genetic studies of affective disorders: should we be starting with childhood onset probands?

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study is to test whether the presence of childhood onset affective disorder identifies families with increased incidence and severity of affective disorders.

METHOD

Family history information was collected on the first and second degree relatives and first cousins age > or = 15 years of 22 children with bipolar affective disorder, 54 children with major depressive disorder, and 31 psychiatrically normal children.

RESULTS

Compared with the relatives of normal children, relatives identified through children with bipolar affective disorder or major depressive disorder had elevated rates of affective disorders and increased severity of affective disorders as judged by earlier age of onset and increased suicide attempts. Segregation analyses could reject purely environmental transmission of illness.

CONCLUSION

Ascertaining families through childhood onset affective disorder probands identifies extended pedigrees with high incidence and severity of affective disorders. These families may be more appropriate for genetic analyses than are families of adult probands.

Non-radioactive direct sequencing of PCR products amplified from neuropathological specimens

We have developed a simple, rapid and relatively inexpensive protocol for direct non-isotopic cycle sequencing of DNA amplified using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PCR is performed on routine and archival neuropathological tissue. For sequencing, a 5'-digoxigenin end-labelled oligonucleotide primer is annealed and extended during thermal cycling, sequencing reactions are separated on a standard sequencing gel and the gel is contact-blotted to a nylon membrane. Sequenced DNA is visualized using immunological detection of digoxigenin.