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Cytoskeletal Neurofilament Gene Expression in Brain Tissue from Alzheimer's Disease Patients. I. Decrease in NF-L and NF-M Message

Gerontology Research Center (Drs. Kittur, Endo, and Adler), NIA, NIH, Baltimore, Maryland; the VA Wadsworth Medical Center (Drs. Hoh and Tourtellotte), Los Angeles, California; Hamilton College, Department of Biology (Dr. Weeks), Clinton, New York; and the Department of Neurology (Dr. Markesbery), University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky.

John Hoh, MD

Gerontology Research Center (Drs. Kittur, Endo, and Adler), NIA, NIH, Baltimore, Maryland; the VA Wadsworth Medical Center (Drs. Hoh and Tourtellotte), Los Angeles, California; Hamilton College, Department of Biology (Dr. Weeks), Clinton, New York; and the Department of Neurology (Dr. Markesbery), University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky.

Hidetoshi Endo, MD

Gerontology Research Center (Drs. Kittur, Endo, and Adler), NIA, NIH, Baltimore, Maryland; the VA Wadsworth Medical Center (Drs. Hoh and Tourtellotte), Los Angeles, California; Hamilton College, Department of Biology (Dr. Weeks), Clinton, New York; and the Department of Neurology (Dr. Markesbery), University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky.

Wallace Tourtellotte, MD

Gerontology Research Center (Drs. Kittur, Endo, and Adler), NIA, NIH, Baltimore, Maryland; the VA Wadsworth Medical Center (Drs. Hoh and Tourtellotte), Los Angeles, California; Hamilton College, Department of Biology (Dr. Weeks), Clinton, New York; and the Department of Neurology (Dr. Markesbery), University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky.

Benjamin S. Weeks, PhD

Gerontology Research Center (Drs. Kittur, Endo, and Adler), NIA, NIH, Baltimore, Maryland; the VA Wadsworth Medical Center (Drs. Hoh and Tourtellotte), Los Angeles, California; Hamilton College, Department of Biology (Dr. Weeks), Clinton, New York; and the Department of Neurology (Dr. Markesbery), University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky.

William Markesbery, MD

Gerontology Research Center (Drs. Kittur, Endo, and Adler), NIA, NIH, Baltimore, Maryland; the VA Wadsworth Medical Center (Drs. Hoh and Tourtellotte), Los Angeles, California; Hamilton College, Department of Biology (Dr. Weeks), Clinton, New York; and the Department of Neurology (Dr. Markesbery), University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky.

William Adler, MD

Gerontology Research Center (Drs. Kittur, Endo, and Adler), NIA, NIH, Baltimore, Maryland; the VA Wadsworth Medical Center (Drs. Hoh and Tourtellotte), Los Angeles, California; Hamilton College, Department of Biology (Dr. Weeks), Clinton, New York; and the Department of Neurology (Dr. Markesbery), University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky.

The cytoskeletal changes seen in brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease include neurofibrillary tangles, neuritic plaques, Hirano bodies, and granulovacuolar degeneration. Northern and slot blot analyses were used to investigate the expression of the genes coding for actin, tubulin, neurofilaments, and histone in brain tissue from Alzheimer's disease patients and normal aged controls. We found a marked decrease of 94% in the expression of the neurofilament gene coding for the medium size subunit (150 kDa) and a 73% decrease in the expression of the gene coding for the small subunit (68 kDa) in Alzheimer's disease patients as compared to controls. Expression of the other genes, such as actin and histone, did not show any significant difference. Expression of the gene coding for medium size, neurofilament gene was not decreased in other neurodegenerative diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Parkinson's disease. This abnormality in neurofilament gene expression may explain some of the pathologic features found in Alzheimer's disease patients.

Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology, Vol. 7, No. 3, 153-158 (1994)
DOI: 10.1177/089198879400700305


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