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From the Department of Neuropathology (Drs. Morishima-Kawashima and Ihara, T. Katsuno), Faculty of Medicine, and Department of Life Science (Dr. Ishiura), Graduate School of Arts and Science, University of Tokyo, and Departments of Neurology (Dr. Yamanouchi) and Neuropathology (Drs. Saito and Murayama), Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Hospital and Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Institute of Gerontology, Japan.
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Y. Ihara, Department of Neuropathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan; e-mail: yihara{at}m.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Background: Previous studies have repeatedly described that neurofibrillary tangles arise earlier than senile plaques (SPs) in the entorhinal cortex, but one study suggested that SPs, if present, enhance the former lesions. All of these studies were performed at the histologic or immunocytochemical level, which may not accurately reflect the actual levels of amyloid ß-protein (Aß) and tau.
Objective: To determine whether there is significant interaction between Aß and tau in the human entorhinal cortex with regard to the Braak stage.
Methods: Biochemical studies were conducted on 50 brains from elderly people, who were mainly at Braak stages I to III. All the cases were examined neuropathologically and staged according to Braak and Braak. A small piece of brain tissue for each case was dissected from the anterior portion of the right entorhinal cortex. The amounts of tau and Aß in the insoluble fraction of the tissue were quantified using western blotting.
Results: The levels of tau and possibly Aß42 in the entorhinal cortex appeared to rise steeply at approximately age 75. The levels of insoluble tau increased as the Braak stage increased from I to II; however, it had a tendency to remain between stages II and III. The levels of Aß42 showed a small increase, whereas those of Aß40 increased continuously as the Braak stage advanced. In contrast, the extent of Aß42 accumulation increased with increasing Braak stage for SPs. There was no significant correlation between the levels of insoluble tau and Aß42 in the entorhinal cortex. Even if Aß did not accumulate to significant extents, substantial accumulation of insoluble tau occurred.
Conclusion: Accumulations of tau and amyloid ß-protein occur independently in the human entorhinal cortex.
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