Resilience of precuneus neurotrophic signaling pathways despite amyloid pathology in prodromal Alzheimer's disease.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Reduction of precuneus choline acetyltransferase activity co-occurs with greater beta-amyloid (Aβ) in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Whether this cholinergic deficit is associated with alteration in nerve growth factor (NGF) signaling and its relation to Aβ plaque and neurofibrillary tangle (NFT) pathology during disease onset is unknown.

Methods

Precuneus NGF upstream and downstream signaling levels relative to Aβ and NFT pathology were evaluated using biochemistry and histochemistry in 62 subjects with a premortem diagnosis of non-cognitively impaired (NCI; n = 23), mild cognitive impairment (MCI; n = 21), and mild to moderate AD (n = 18).

Results

Immunoblots revealed increased levels of proNGF in AD subjects but not MCI subjects, whereas cognate receptors wer

SUBMITTER: Perez SE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4096429 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature