Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences Large Type Edition
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]
Author:
Keyword(s):
Year:  Vol:  Page: 


This Article
Full Text
Full Text (PDF)
Alert me when this article is cited
Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Similar articles in this journal
Similar articles in PubMed
Alert me to new issues of the journal
Download to citation manager
Cited by other online articles
Google Scholar
Articles by Honda, S.
Articles by Imai, K.
Articles citing this Article
PubMed
PubMed Citation
Articles by Honda, S.
Articles by Imai, K.
The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences 55:M265-M269 (2000)
© 2000 The Gerontological Society of America

Association Between Complement Regulatory Protein Factor H and AM34 Antigen, Detected in Senile Plaques

Saho Hondaa, Fumio Itoha, Mitsuru Yoshimotoa, Satoko Ohnoa, Yuji Hinodaa and Kohzoh Imaia

a First Department of Internal Medicine, Sapporo Medical University, Japan

Correspondence: Fumio Itoh, First Department of Internal Medicine, Sapporo Medical University, South-1, West-16, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Japan E-mail: fitoh{at}sapmed.ac.jp.

Decision Editor: William B. Ershler, MD

Background. We have previously shown that monoclonal antibody AM34, which is reactive with senile plaques, may recognize the C terminus of complement factor H. In this study, we investigated the expression of factor H in tissue from a human brain and the relation between AM34 antigen and factor H.

Method. Total ribonucleic acid (RNA) was extracted from a normal human brain. A reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction method was employed for detecting messenger RNAs coding for factor H and related proteins. Protein extracts from a normal human brain were also analyzed to detect factor H and related proteins by means of Western blotting. The cerebrospinal fluid from an Alzheimer's disease patient was immunoprecipitated with AM34 and anti-factor-H antibodies, and then it was subjected to gel electrophoresis followed by immunoblotting with AM34 and anti-factor-H antibodies.

Results. 26 clones of complementary DNA fragment were obtained by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Among them, seven clones were identical to factor H, and the others were related proteins and unreported sequences. A Western blot analysis of protein extracts from the normal brain tissue exhibited a 150-kd band, indicating the presence of factor H. AM34 was immunoreactive with the 150-kd molecule contained in the immunoprecipitates with anti-factor H antibodies, and vice versa. These results suggest that AM34 antigen could be identical to complement factor H.

Conclusions. The results of our experiments indicate that factor H is possibly detected in the human brain, and that the AM34 antibody could recognize factor H. Because AM34 is capable of staining senile plaques positively, factor H is suggested to be associated with senile plaques in the human brain.




This article has been cited by other articles: (Search Google Scholar for Other Citing Articles)


Home page
J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med SciHome page
W. A. Banks and J. E. Morley
Memories Are Made of This: Recent Advances in Understanding Cognitive Impairments and Dementia
J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci., April 1, 2003; 58(4): M314 - 321.
[Full Text] [PDF]




HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
All GSA journals The Gerontologist
Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
Copyright © 2000 by The Gerontological Society of America.