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Down's Syndrome: Up‐Regulation of β‐Amyloid Protein Precursor and τ mRNAs and Their Defective Coordination
Author(s) -
Oyama Fumitaka,
Cairns Nigel J.,
Shimada Hiroyuki,
Oyama Rieko,
Titani Koiti,
Ihara Yasuo
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
journal of neurochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.75
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1471-4159
pISSN - 0022-3042
DOI - 10.1046/j.1471-4159.1994.62031062.x
Subject(s) - messenger rna , amyloid precursor protein , gene expression , alzheimer's disease , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , endocrinology , gene , medicine , chemistry , disease , genetics
Almost all patients >40 years of age with Down's syndrome (DS) develop the pathology characteristic of Alzheimer's disease: abundant β‐amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. We have investigated the gene expression of β‐amyloid protein precursor (APR) and τ in DS and age‐matched control brains and found that levels of both mRNAs were significantly elevated in DS. Such up‐regulation was not observed in two other neuronal proteins. A correlation between total APP and τ mRNA levels was also found in DS brain but distinct from the pattern observed in normal brain. Although a proportionality existed between APP‐695 mRNA and three‐repeat τ mRNA in DS, the proportionality between APP‐751 mRNA and four‐repeat τ mRNA, which is normally present, was not observed. Thus, DS brains are primarily characterized by the up‐regulation of τ mRNA as well as APP mRNA and disruption of the coordinate expression between APP‐751 and four‐repeat τ.