Isolation and biochemical characterization of amyloid plaques and paired helical filaments

Curr Protoc Cell Biol. 2009 Sep:Chapter 3:Unit 3.33 3.33.1-33. doi: 10.1002/0471143030.cb0333s44.

Abstract

Extracellular deposits of amyloid fibrils in the form of parenchymal plaques and cerebrovascular lesions, as well as intracellular accumulation of paired-helical filaments in the form of neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) in selected neuronal populations are the main neuropathologic hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease. Amyloid fibrils composed of polymeric structures of the amyloid-beta (Abeta) concentrate at the center of senile plaques and accumulate in the walls of cerebral blood vessels, exhibiting extensive Congo red/thioflavin S staining. Intraneuronal NFT are composed of building blocks of aberrantly hyperphosphorylated species of the microtubule-associated protein tau, which accumulate in the perinuclear cytoplasm of vulnerable neurons in the form of paired helical filaments (PHF). This unit presents a variety of protocols for the isolation, biochemical analysis, and characterization of amyloid fibrils and neurofibrillary tangles.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Alzheimer Disease / metabolism*
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / chemistry*
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / isolation & purification*
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / metabolism
  • Brain / metabolism
  • Brain Chemistry
  • Cell Fractionation / methods*
  • Humans
  • Microscopy / methods*
  • Neurofibrillary Tangles / chemistry
  • Neurofibrillary Tangles / metabolism

Substances

  • Amyloid beta-Peptides