Premium
Neuropeptide Y immunoreactivity is reduced in cerebral cortex in Alzheimer's disease
Author(s) -
Beal M. Flint,
Mazurek Michael F.,
Chattha Geetinder K.,
Svendsen Clive N.,
Bird Edward D.,
Martin Joseph B.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
annals of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.764
H-Index - 296
eISSN - 1531-8249
pISSN - 0364-5134
DOI - 10.1002/ana.410200303
Subject(s) - neuropeptide , neuroscience , neuropeptide y receptor , alzheimer's disease , cerebral cortex , degenerative disease , medicine , disease , psychology , central nervous system disease , receptor
Neuropeptide Y is a 36–amino acid peptide that is found in high concentrations in cerebral cortex and is contained in cortical neurons. We measured concentrations of this peptide in postmortem tissue from patients with Alzheimer's disease and controls using a sensitive and specific radioimmunoassay. High‐performance liquid chromatography showed that more than 95% of immunoreactivity co‐migrated with synthetic standards in both Alzheimer's disease and control frontal cortex. Significant reductions in neuropeptide Y–like immunoreactivity were found in eleven cortical regions, the hippocampus, and the locus ceruleus. The regions particularly affected included the temporal lobe, frontal lobe, and occipital cortex. As neuropeptide Y is co‐localized with somatostatin in a considerable proportion of cortical neurons, the loss of immunoreactivity may in part reflect degeneration of these neurons. Further study of the selective vulnerability of these neurons in Alzheimer's disease cortex may provide clues to the nature of the underlying disease process.