Abstract

VANZANI, María C.; IACONO, Rubén F.; CACCURI, Roberto L.  and  BERRIA, María I.. Immunochemical and morphometric features of astrocyte reactivity vs. plaque location in Alzheimer´s disease. Medicina (B. Aires) [online]. 2005, vol.65, n.3, pp.213-218. ISSN 0025-7680.

The quantitative relationship between  glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) hyper-reactivity and b-amy-loid protein (bAP) deposition was investigated by double immunoperoxidase labeling of hippocampal and entorhinal cortex sections from five Alzheimer´s disease (AD) cases and five age-matched controls. bAP plaques, which were absent in controls, were found in all AD samples, without significant differences in number or perimeter according to their location among the regions studied. In contrast, the mean number of GFAP (+) cells was significantly greater in the hippocampus than in the entorhinal cortex from AD cases (49 vs.39). Although at lower values (30 vs. 20),  predominance of astrocyte hyperplasia in hippocampus as compared with entorhinal cortex was also found in control samples. Concomitant astrocyte hypertrophy, as defined by surface density (Sv) values of GFAP-immunoreactive material exceeding those of control means, affected a similar proportion of cells in the hippocampus (73%) and the entorhinal cortex (74%) from AD cases. Since an increased number of GFAP (+) cells in the hippocampus was not accompanied by  an increased number and/or perimeter of neighbouring plaques, such differential hyper-reactivity in samples from AD patients, as well as in those with normal aging, seems to depend partially on the regional location of the involved astrocyte.

Keywords : Hippocampus; Entorhinal cortex; GFAP; bAP; Quantitative analysis.

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