ACLS
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Peng, J.-H. F.
Right arrow Articles by Parker, J. C.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Peng, J.-H. F.
Right arrow Articles by Parker, J. C., Jr
Annals of Clinical & Laboratory Science 36:151-156 (2006)
© 2006 Association of Clinical Scientists

Increased ALZ-50 Immunoreactivity in CSF of Pseudotumor Cerebri Patients

Jeng-Hsiung F. Peng, Fei-Tau Kung1, Warner Peng2 and Joseph C. Parker, Jr3
1 University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City, MO; 2 University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City, KS; 3 University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY, USA

Address correspondence to Jeng-Hsiung F. Peng, Ph.D., Dept. Mol. Biol. and Biochem., National Chiayi University, Chiayi, Taiwan 60004, ROC; tel 886 5 271 7797; fax 886 5 271 7780; e-mail: jhfpeng{at}yahoo.com.

Pseudotumor cerebri (PTC) is characterized by increased intracranial pressure and papilledema without a mass lesion. PTC predominantly affects obese women. Currently, the pathogenesis of PTC is obscure. Since cytoskeletal abnormalities are found in many neurodegenerative diseases, we hypothesized that some cytoskeletal protein might be involved in the pathophysiology of PTC. Western blotting with specific antibody probes was employed to evaluate ALZ-50 immunoreactive protein, cytoskeletal microtubule-associated protein (MAP), and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from 8 PTC patients and 6 controls. Immunoblotting of ALZ-50 in CSF revealed intense staining of 50 kDa protein bands in 7 of 8 PTC patients, while weak staining was found in 4 of 6 controls. Moderate staining of ALZ-50 was seen in 1 of 8 PTC patients and in 2 of 6 controls. CSF blots with anti-ALZ-50 antibody also showed intense staining of a 65 kDa protein band in 3 of the 8 patients but in none of the controls. In anti-MAP CSF blots of the PTC patients and controls, weak staining of the MAP 60 kDa and 50 kDa protein bands was observed. Weak staining of 60 kDa bands was also observed in anti-GFAP CSF blots of all PTC patients and controls. In CSF blots reacted with anti-GFAP antibody, 65 kDa and 32 kDa bands were evident in some PTC patients, but in none of the controls. This study indicates that ALZ-50 immunoreactivity is elevated in CSF of PTC patients. The ALZ-50 immunoreactive protein, either normal tau protein or its phosphorylated variant, may be useful as a biomarker for the diagnosis of PTC. Since the ALZ-50 monoclonal antibody was generated against brain homogenate from Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients, this study suggests a possible link between PTC and AD.

Keywords: CSF, tau protein, glial fibrillary acidic protein, microtubule-associated protein, ALZ-50






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2006 by the Association of Clinical Scientists.