Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Expression of αB-crystallin in Alzheimer's disease

  • Regular Paper
  • Published:
Acta Neuropathologica Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

αB-crystallin is a member of the small heatshock protein family. Under pathological conditions, the expression of αB-crystallin increases in proliferating astrocytes, which suggests that this protein, in addition to glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), can be a marker for gliosis in neurodegenerative diseases. Immunoblotting and immunohistochemical methods were used for the detection of αB-crystallin in the brains of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and nondemented controls. An increase in αB-cyrstallin expression was found in the brains of AD patients. Immunoreaction was present in reactive astrocytes, microglia, and oligodendrocytes, indicating that all types of glia respond to the stress associated with AD pathology. Colocalization of GFAP and αB-crystallin was found in fibrous astrocytes. However, the intensity and range of αB-crystallin expression appeared to be limited as compared with the large increase in the number of GFAP-positive astrocytes. This indicates that expression of αB-crystallin is not a marker for gliosis in AD. Immunoreactivity to αB-crystallin in both astrocytes and microglia was found mainly restricted to areas with senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, suggesting the association of αB-crystallin with amyloid deposition in AD.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Abe K, St George-Hyslop PH, Tanzi RE, Kogure K (1991) Induction of amyloid precursor protein mRNA after heat shock in cultured human lymphoblastoid cells. Neurosci Lett 125: 169–171

    Google Scholar 

  2. Aoyama A, Fröli E, Schäfer R, Klemenz R (1993) αB-crystallin expression in mouse NIH 3T3: fibroblasts glucocoticoid responsiveness, ras oncogene-mediated modulation and involvement in thermal protection. Mol Cell Biol 13: 1824–1835

    Google Scholar 

  3. Bhat SP, Nagineni CN (1989) αB subunit of lens-specific protein α-crystallin is present in other ocular and non-ocular tissue. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 158: 319–325

    Google Scholar 

  4. De Jong WW, Leunissen JAM, Voorter CEM (1993) Evolution of the α-crystallin/small heat-shock protein family. Mol Biol Evol 10: 103–126

    Google Scholar 

  5. Delacourte A (1990) General and dramatic glial reaction in Alzheimer brains. Neurology 40: 33–37

    Google Scholar 

  6. Duguid JR, Rohwer RG, Seed B (1988) Isolation of cDNAs of scrapie-modulated RNAs by subtractive hybridization of a cDNA library. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 85: 5738–5742

    Google Scholar 

  7. Frederickson RCA (1992) Astroglia in Alzheimer's disease. Neurobiol Aging 13: 239–253

    Google Scholar 

  8. Grundke-Iqbal I, Fleming J, Tung YC, Lassmann H, Iqbal K, Joshi JG (1990) Ferritin is a component of the neuritic (senile) plaque in Alzheimer's dementia. Acta Neuropathol 81: 105–110

    Google Scholar 

  9. Haass C, Hung AY, Selkoe DJ (1991) Processing of β-amyloid precursor protein in microglia and astroctytes favors an internal localization over constitutive secretion. J Neurosci 11: 3783–3793

    Google Scholar 

  10. Hamos JE, Oblas B, Pulaski-Salo D, Welch WJ, Bole DG, Drachman DA (1991) Expression of heat shock proteins in Alzheimer's disease. Neurology 41: 345–350

    Google Scholar 

  11. Horwitz J (1992) Alpha-Crystallin can function as a molecular chaperone. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 89: 10449–10453

    Google Scholar 

  12. Iwaki T, Wisniewski T, Iwaki A, Corbin E, Tomokane N, Tateishi J, Goldman JE (1992) Accumulation of αB-crystallin in central nervous system glia and neurons in pathological conditions. Am J Pathol 140: 345–356

    Google Scholar 

  13. Jellinger K, Paulus W, Grundke-Iqbal I, Riederer P, Youdim MBH (1990) Brain iron and ferritin in Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. J Neural Transm [P-D Sect] 2: 327–340

    Google Scholar 

  14. Kato K, Shinohara H, Kurobe N, Inaguma Y, Shimizu K, Ohshima K (1991) Tissue distribution and developmental profiles of immunoreactive αB-crystallin in the rat determined with a sensitive immunoassay system. Acta Biochim Biophys 1074: 201–208

    Google Scholar 

  15. Khachaturian ZS (1985) Diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. Arch Neurol 42: 1097–1104

    Google Scholar 

  16. Klementz R, Fröhli E, Steiger RH, Schäfer R, Aoyama A (1991) αB-crystallin is a small heat-shock protein. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 88: 3652–3656

    Google Scholar 

  17. Lindsay RM (1986) Reactive gliosis. In: Fedoroff S, Vernadakis A (eds) Astrocytes, vol 3. Academic Press, New York, pp 231–262

    Google Scholar 

  18. Lolova I (1991) Qualitative and quantitative glial changes in the hippocampus of aged rats. Anat Anz Jena 172: 263–271

    Google Scholar 

  19. Lowe J, McDermott H, Pike I, Spendove I, Landon M, Mayer RJ (1992) αB-crystallin expression in non-lenticular tissues and selective presence in ubiquinated inclusion bodies in human disease. J Pathol 166: 61–68

    Google Scholar 

  20. Lowe J, Errington DR, Lennox G, Pike I, Spendlove I, Landon M, Mayer RJ (1992) Ballooned neurons in several neurodegenerative diseases and stroke contain αB-crystallin. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol 18: 341–350

    Google Scholar 

  21. Merck KB, Groenen PJTA, Voorter CEM, de Haard-Hoekman, Horwitz J, Bloemendal H, De Jong WW (1993) Structural and functional similarities of bovine α-crystallin and mouse small heat-shock protein. J Biol Chem 268: 1046–1052

    Google Scholar 

  22. Miller RH, Abney ER, David S, Ffrench-Constant C, Lindsay R, Patel R, Stone J, Raff MC (1986) Is reactive gliosis a property of a distinct subpopulation of astrocytes? J Neurosci 6: 22–29

    Google Scholar 

  23. Morimoto RI (1991) Heat shock: the role of transient inducible responses in cell damage, transformation, and differentiation. Cancer cells 3: 295–301

    Google Scholar 

  24. Nagineni CN, Bhat SP (1988) Maintenance of the synthesis of αB-crystallin and progressive expression of βBp-crystallin in human fetal lens epithelial cells in culture. Dev Biol 130: 402–405

    Google Scholar 

  25. Nishimura RN, Dwyer BE, Welch W, Cole R, de Vellis J, Liotta K (1988) The induction of the major heat-stress protein in purified rat glial cells. J Neurosci Res 20: 12–18

    Google Scholar 

  26. Norton WT, Aquino DA, Hozumi I, Chiu FC, Brosnan CF (1992) Quantitative aspects of reactive gliosis: a review. Neurochem Res 17: 877–885

    Google Scholar 

  27. Renkawek K, De Jong WW, Merck KB, Frenken CWGM, Van Workum FPA, Bosman GJCGM (1992) αB-crystallin is present in reactive glia in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Acta Neuropathol 83: 324–327

    Google Scholar 

  28. Renkawek K, Voorter CEM, Bosman GJCGM, van Workum FPA, de Jong WW (1993) αB-crystallin expression in reactive glia in Alzheimer disease. Adv Biosci 87: 287–288

    Google Scholar 

  29. Sawada K, Agata K, Eguchi G (1992) Crystallin gene expression in the process of lentoidogenesis in cultures of chicken lens epithelial cells. Exp Eye Res 55: 879–887

    Google Scholar 

  30. Wistow GJ, Piatigorsky J (1988) Lens crystallins: the evolution and expression of proteins for a highly specialized tissue. Annu Rev Biochem 57: 479–504

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Neurology, Research Laboratory of Morphological Neurology, University of Nijmegen, P. O. Box 9101, NL-6500 HB, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    K. Renkawek, C. E. M. Voorter, G. J. C. G. M. Bosman, F. P. A. van Workum & W. W. de Jong

  2. Department of Biochemistry, University of Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    K. Renkawek, C. E. M. Voorter, G. J. C. G. M. Bosman, F. P. A. van Workum & W. W. de Jong

Authors
  1. K. Renkawek
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. C. E. M. Voorter
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. G. J. C. G. M. Bosman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. F. P. A. van Workum
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. W. W. de Jong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

Supported by a grant (No. EY08202) from the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, USA

Supported by a fellowship of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Renkawek, K., Voorter, C.E.M., Bosman, G.J.C.G.M. et al. Expression of αB-crystallin in Alzheimer's disease. Acta Neuropathol 87, 155–160 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00296185

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00296185

Key words

Search

Navigation