Abstract
Recent findings from our and other laboratories indicate that cell cycle-related phenomena may play a key role in the formation of Alzheimer-type pathology and neuronal cell death in both Alzheimer's and cerebro-vascular diseases. In this study we examine the expression patterns of cyclins A, B1, D1 and E in neuronal nuclei in the hippocampus in autopsied healthy elderly individuals, Alzheimer's disease patients and subjects suffering from cerebrovascular disease with and without co-existing Alzheimer's disease. Nuclear cyclin B1 and cyclin E expression was detected in hippocampal neurones in each subject category. However, cyclin B1 expression was significantly elevated in the CA1 of patients suffering from cerebro-vascular disease alone, while cyclin E expression was significantly higher in the CA4 subfield in patients suffering from mixed Alzheimer's and cerebro-vascular diseases compared to subjects in other categories. We hypothesize that cell cycle re-entry may occur in healthy elderly people leading to age-related cell death and mild Alzheimer-type pathology in the hippocampus. However, in pathological conditions, the cell cycle arrest may lead either to the development of severe Alzheimer-related pathology or to excess apoptotic cell death as in vascular dementia.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 45-8 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Neuroscience Letters |
Volume | 271 |
Issue number | 1 |
Publication status | Published - 13 Aug 1999 |
Keywords
- Aged
- Aged, 80 and over
- Alzheimer Disease
- Autopsy
- Cell Cycle
- Cell Nucleus
- Cerebrovascular Disorders
- Cyclin A
- Cyclin B
- Cyclin B1
- Cyclin D1
- Cyclin E
- Cyclins
- Dementia, Vascular
- Hippocampus
- Humans
- Neurons
- Reference Values