Biomedical subjects

M A Morán

Publications and source records attributed to M A Morán.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Characterization of a double (amyloid precursor protein-tau) transgenic: tau phosphorylation and aggregation.

A double transgenic mouse expressing the amyloid precursor protein, bearing the Swedish mutations, and expressing tau protein containing three of the mutations present in frontotemporal dementia linked to chromosome 17 (FTDP-17), has been characterized. In the double transgenic mouse an increase in tau phosphorylation at serine S262 and S422 was observed compared with that found in simple transgenic mice. The phosphorylation at S262 was also found, in a much lower level, in the single transgenic mouse expressing amyloid precursor protein (APP), and it was absent in that overexpressing tau variant. Additionally, in the double transgenic mouse a slight increase in the amount of sarkosyl insoluble tau polymers was observed in comparison with that found in single transgenic tau mouse. Also, wider tau filaments were found in the double transgenic mouse compared with those found in the single transgenic mouse. Our results suggest that beta-amyloid peptide could facilitate the phosphorylation of tau at a site not directed by proline, such as serine 262, and that modification could facilitate tau aberrant aggregation. Also, they suggest that different types of tau filamentous polymers can occur in different mouse models for tauopathies, like those used for Alzheimer's disease or FTDP-17.

Amyloid beta-Peptides↗

PubMed2001

Ubiquitinated granular structures and initial neurofibrillary changes in the human brain.

Ubiquitin-positive dots and granular structures from insular, temporopolar, hippocampal and parahippocampal cortices of nondemented and Alzheimer's disease patients have been studied with both light and electron microscopes. The relationship of both types of ubiquitin-positive elements with pretangle neurons and neurofibrillary tangles has been analyzed by comparing adjacent or nearly adjacent sections immunostained for either ubiquitin or an antibody that recognizes hyperphosphorylated tau protein (AT-8). Moreover, a double protocol with both antibodies was used in order to obtain double-stained sections. The presence of ubiquitin-positive dots and granular structures precedes the appearance of pretangle neurons in the youngest cases. In aged and Alzheimer disease cases, both types of ubiquitin-positive elements decrease in number as pretangle neurons are replaced by mature and ghost tangles. Ultrastructurally, dots and granular structures appear to be degenerating neuronal processes and/or terminals. Our results suggest that the degeneration of these processes and/or terminals might be related with the initiation of neurofibrillary degeneration.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Apolipoprotein E immunoreactivity in neurons and neurofibrillary degeneration of aged non-demented and Alzheimer's disease patients.

Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) genotype is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD) but its relationship with neurofibrillary degeneration remains obscure. To further analyze this relationship, hippocampal, entorhinal, temporopolar, and insular cortices of 10 non-demented and 7 Alzheimer disease brains were studied with both light and electron microscopy. Focus was directed on pretangles and neurons starting to accumulate tangles. ApoE immunolabeling in neurons and tangles was independent of ApoE individual genotype. The majority of the neurons in all of the brains were ApoE-negative, but virtually every brain also contained groups of ApoE-immunoreactive neurons, with diffuse cytoplasmic labeling. Most of the ApoE-positive tangles were extracellular, but a few tangles were shown to be intraneuronal when studied ultrastructurally. No ApoE immunoreactivity was found in neuropil threads, as well as in neurites associated with senile plaques. Double protocols with both AT-8 and anti-ApoE antibodies, performed to determine whether ApoE-positive neurons were pretangle neurons, did not detect cytoplasmic AT-8 in ApoE-positive neurons. Though careful electron microscopy studies found ApoE reaction product in an occasional ApoE-positive pretangle-like neuron and a few intracellular tangles, these findings do not support that ApoE is necessary for the accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau protein. The more consistent colocalization of anti-ApoE and AT-8 in extracellular tangles reveals that ApoE mainly binds to tangles once they are in the extracellular space, in a manner similar to that described for amyloid fibrils.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Decreased nuclear beta-catenin, tau hyperphosphorylation and neurodegeneration in GSK-3beta conditional transgenic mice.

Glycogen synthase kinase-3beta (GSK-3beta) has been postulated to mediate Alzheimer's disease tau hyperphosphorylation, beta-amyloid-induced neurotoxicity and presenilin-1 mutation pathogenic effects. By using the tet-regulated system we have produced conditional transgenic mice overexpressing GSK-3beta in the brain during adulthood while avoiding perinatal lethality due to embryonic transgene expression. These mice show decreased levels of nuclear beta-catenin and hyperphosphorylation of tau in hippocampal neurons, the latter resulting in pretangle-like somatodendritic localization of tau. Neurons displaying somatodendritic localization of tau often show abnormal morphologies and detachment from the surrounding neuropil. Reactive astrocytosis and microgliosis were also indicative of neuronal stress and death. This was further confirmed by TUNEL and cleaved caspase-3 immunostaining of dentate gyrus granule cells. Our results demonstrate that in vivo overexpression of GSK-3beta results in neurodegeneration and suggest that these mice can be used as an animal model to study the relevance of GSK-3beta deregulation to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease.

Animals↗

PubMed2001

FTDP-17 mutations in tau transgenic mice provoke lysosomal abnormalities and Tau filaments in forebrain.

The tauopathies, which include Alzheimer's disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementias, are a group of neurodegenerative disorders characterized by filamentous Tau aggregates. That Tau dysfunction can cause neurodegeneration is indicated by pathogenic tau mutations in frontotemporal dementia and parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17 (FTDP-17). To investigate how Tau alterations provoke neurodegeneration we generated transgenic mice expressing human Tau with four tubulin-binding repeats (increased by FTDP-17 splice donor mutations) and three FTDP-17 missense mutations: G272V, P301L, and R406W. Ultrastructural analysis of mutant Tau-positive neurons revealed a pretangle appearance, with filaments of Tau and increased numbers of lysosomes displaying aberrant morphology similar to those found in AD. Lysosomal alterations were confirmed by activity analysis of the marker acid phosphatase, which was increased in both transgenic mice and transfected neuroblastoma cells. Our results show that Tau modifications can provoke lysosomal aberrations and suggest that this may be a cause of neurodegeneration in tauopathies.

Acid Phosphatase↗

PubMed1998

Ultrastructural aspects of neurofibrillary tangle formation in aging and Alzheimer's disease.

Neurofibrillary tangles, one of the neuropathological signs of Alzheimer's disease, are frequently present in brains of aged nondemented people. Ultrastructurally, neurofibrillary tangles appear as paired helical and straight filaments. Both types of filaments, made of hyperphosphorylated tau protein, are present in neurons with neurofibrillary tangles. Neurons with neurofibrillary tangles have been described to undergo an evolution, starting with the accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau, followed by the progressive appearance of both types of filaments, and ending in the death of the neuron. We ultrastructurally studied this evolution, using immunocytochemistry with an antibody against phosphorylated tau protein, in both nondemented aged and Alzheimer's disease brains. No differences were found between nondemented and demented brains, thus indicating the occurrence of the same process in both cases. Our results also suggest that hyperphosphorylated tau protein first appears as granular material, which becomes organized into short and disordered paired helical filaments. These filaments elongate and gradually become arranged into bundles whose core regions are occupied by straight filaments.

Aged↗

PubMed1997

Association of cholinesterases with amyloid in extracellular neurofibrillary tangles.

Double-labeling techniques conclusively demonstrated that extracellular neurofibrillary tangles immunoreactive for beta protein were also positive for cholinesterases. Ultrastructurally, cholinesterases decorated bundles of amyloid-like filaments, which appeared intermingled with straight filaments and cellular processes. A lighter labeling of esterases was also seen over most straight filaments. These observations extend the consistent association of cholinesterases with fibrillary beta-amyloid protein to a new location in neurofibrillary tangles.

Aged↗

PubMed1997

Ultrastructural localization of butyrylcholinesterase in senile plaques in the brains of aged and Alzheimer disease patients.

Histochemical localization of butyrylcholinesterase has been carried out in primitive, perivascular, and classic plaques in the brains of both nondemented and Alzheimer disease (AD) patients. Butyrylcholinesterase histochemistry has been compared to amyloid beta-protein (A beta P) immunocytochemistry in adjacent sections. In small primitive plaques, most of the butyrylcholinesterase reaction product appears ultrastructurally located over plasma membranes of healthy-looking cell processes. In more extensive primitive plaques, butyrylcholinesterase reaction product also decorates amyloid filaments, which become identifiable as delicate wisps. In classic plaques, large aggregates of butyrylcholinesterase reaction product colocalize with bundles of amyloid filaments, as well as with the compact amyloid core. Thus, deposition of butyrylcholinesterase in senile plaques follows a close parellelism with the progressive aggregation of amyloid beta-protein, supporting the possibility that cholinesterases may play some role in the maturation of these structures.

Aged↗

PubMed1997

Pain relief in chronic pancreatitis by pancreatico-jejunostomy. An institutional experience.

Effective pain control in chronic pancreatitis can be accomplished by pancreatic resection or decompression. Pancreatico-jejunostomy (PJ) has been reported to be effective for relieving pain in 70-80% of cases. The present study analyzes the authors' long-term results with PJ in the treatment of pancreatic pain. From 1963 to 1993, 49 patients with chronic pancreatitis underwent PJ for uncontrollable pain. General and radiologic characteristics, intraoperative findings and outcome were analyzed. Mean age was 35 +/- 13 years, 34 were male and 15 female. Alcoholic etiology was documented in 23 patients. Multiple pancreatic calcifications were found in 33 patients. Pancreatic biopsy confirmed chronic pancreatitis in all patients. There was one operative mortality, 12 minor, and 4 major complications. In a mean follow-up of 6.5 years, 98% of the total group was found to be free of pain. Pancreatic function remained stable in most patients. PJ is an excellent procedure for pain control that allows stable pancreatic function.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Alzheimer's disease-type neurofibrillary degeneration in verrucose dysplasias of the cerebral cortex.

Verrucose dysplasias, found at autopsy in the cerebral cortex of three elderly individuals (two without neurological disorders and one with motor neuron disease), are shown to present neurofibrillary degeneration of Alzheimer's disease type. This neurofibrillary degeneration immunoreacted with antibodies against abnormally phosphorylated tau (5E2 and AT8), disclosed acetyl- and butyrylcholinesterase activity, and was consistently stained with thioflavin-S. Cortical dysplasias, found either as isolated verrucose nodules or comprising multiple nodules, contained cell-sparse areas around which a peak of neurofibrillary changes was seen. Cell-sparse areas were sometimes bridged by stripes of neurons and fibers arranged in a radial fashion, and many of these neurons showed neurofibrillary degeneration. Cytoskeletal abnormalities were conspicuous in layers II and III at the external borders of the dysplasias, as well as in neurons located in layers V and VI, and in the white matter beneath layer VI in central zones of each lesion. The morphology of cells undergoing neurofibrillary changes (from early non-fibrillar stages to late extracellular ones) suggests that neurons disturbed in their migration toward the site to which they had been committed may become vulnerable to cytoskeletal changes. Micro-environmental disturbances related to hypoxia-ischemia in the affected cortex are proposed as likely contributing factors for the long-term production of this neurofibrillary degeneration.

Aged↗

PubMed1994

Ultrastructural localization of butyrylcholinesterase on neurofibrillary degeneration sites in the brains of aged and Alzheimer's disease patients.

Butyrylcholinesterase histochemical techniques were applied to vibratome sections of several cortical areas from the brains of non-demented aged and of Alzheimer's disease patients. At the light microscope level, all the senile plaque types and all the structures with neurofibrillary degeneration showed butyrylcholinesterase reaction product, whereas nearby neuronal perikarya and axons on the same slides remained unstained. Areas containing stained elements were selected, re-sectioned, and finally observed under the electron microscope. Focusing on the sites of neurofibrillary degeneration, butyrylcholinesterase reaction product was found in both intra- and extracellular neurofibrillary tangles, in neurites associated with plaques, and in neuropil threads that were either axons or dendrites. This reaction product was exclusively located over filament bundles, and sometimes covered them so completely that they could not be identified. When the filaments were only partially covered, it was possible to identify them as either paired helical filaments or straight filaments. Occasionally, neurofibrillary tangles, neuropil threads and plaque-associated neurites, all of them containing either paired helical filaments or straight filaments, were found to be completely free of butyrylcholinesterase reaction product. The origin and possible role of butyrylcholinesterase, which is ultrastructurally localized over elements presenting neurofibrillary degeneration, is discussed.

Aged↗

PubMed1994

Cholinesterases colocalize with sites of neurofibrillary degeneration in aged and Alzheimer's brains.

Acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase have been associated with structures undergoing neurofibrillary degeneration, as well as with all types of senile plaques, in non-demented aged and Alzheimer's brains. At the electron microscope level, the reaction product of both enzymes, appeared to decorate paired helical filaments, straight filaments and beta A4 amyloid fibrils. Recent studies showed that cholinesterases were associated with amyloid at early stages, e.g., in diffuse plaques. In the present study, the interrelationship of cholinesterases to structures undergoing neurofibrillary degeneration was analyzed further. Tau immunoreactivity was compared to the staining pattern observed with the two esterases. Double protocols consecutively performed on the same sections, and counterstaining with thioflavin-S, confirmed the presence of cholinesterases in all structures with neurofibrillary degeneration. The conclusion that cholinesterases consistently colocalize with both neurofibrillary bundles and beta A4 amyloid fibrils at all stages of their accumulation, allows us to speculate on the possible role that these enzymes may play in either the formation or the consolidation of fibrillary aggregates.

Acetylcholinesterase↗

PubMed1994

Microtubule-associated protein MAP1B showing a fetal phosphorylation pattern is present in sites of neurofibrillary degeneration in brains of Alzheimer's disease patients.

Alzheimer's disease results in the appearance of cytoskeletal disorders yielding pathological structures such a neurofibrillary tangles or dystrophic neurites. It has been previously described that the microtubule-associated protein, tau, modified by phosphorylation in serines adjacent to prolines, is a major component of these structures. Here, we show that another microtubule associated protein, MAP1B, aberrantly phosphorylated by a proline-dependent protein kinase, is a component of these previously mentioned structures. Thus, a possible common phosphorylation of axonal MAPs such as tau or MAP1B may correlate with their association with those aberrant cytoskeletal structures present in AD.

Aged↗

PubMed1993

[Importance of neurofibrillary degeneration in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease].

For the pathological diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease ADRA-NIH recommend the quantification of plaques, without distinguishing their types, and neurofibrillary tangles. However, diffuse plaques may not be specifically associated to such diagnosis, as suggested by several authors and a previous paper. The neurofibrillary degeneration, present not only in neurofibrillary tangles but also in neuropil threads, either free in the neuropil or associated in plaques, could be more closely correlated with the decrease of cognitive functions than the plaques by themselves. In the present work, the efficiency of cholinesterase histochemical techniques and thioflavin-S is compared to the immunocytochemistry for abnormal tau, in two aspects: 1) the quantification of neurofibrillary degeneration, 2) the distribution of this degeneration, when present, within the plaques. It is concluded that immunocytochemistry for tau is the technique that better fulfills both goals, showing a better agreement with the cognitive state. For that reason tau immunocytochemistry is highly recommended in order to improve the anatomopathological diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.

Acetylcholinesterase↗

PubMed1993

Colocalization of cholinesterases with beta amyloid protein in aged and Alzheimer's brains.

The colocalization of beta amyloid protein with the enzymes acetyl- and butyrylcholinesterase was assessed using immunocytochemistry for beta amyloid protein and a sensitive histochemical technique for cholinesterases. In non-demented aged and Alzheimer's disease brains, double-stained sections for cholinesterases and thioflavin-S showed that all thioflavin-S-positive plaques were also positive for cholinesterases, indicating the presence of these enzymes in all plaques with beta-pleated amyloid protein. When amyloid angiopathy was present, cholinesterases were also observed in amyloid-laden vessels walls. Comparison of series of adjacent sections alternatively stained for acetylcholinesterase, beta amyloid protein and butyrylcholinesterase, as well as by double histo-immunocytochemical staining, showed either cholinesterase in a proportion of the preamyloid diffuse plaques. These data indicate that cholinesterases are associated with the amyloid protein from very early stages, when the beta-pleated structure is being formed. Novel functions attributed to acetyl- and butyrylcholinesterase, such us their proteolytic activity either by themselves or in association with heparan sulfate proteoglycans, may play a role in the aggregation or the consolidation processes taking place at the early stages of diffuse plaque formation.

Aged↗

PubMed1992

[Diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. Evaluation of senile plaques of the diffuse type].

The different types of plaques throughout the thickness of the pole of the temporal lobule of brains from autopsies of a patient with Alzheimer's disease and two elderly patients with normal cognitive function were quantified. Thioflavin-S techniques and cholinesterase marking indicating amyloid aggregates were employed. If the Khachaturian criteria had been followed one of the controls would have also been diagnosed with involvement of Alzheimer's disease. The aforementioned control and patients with Alzheimer's disease had numerous senile plaques, most of which were diffuse, however, only the patient with senile dementia also had neuritic plaques. This fact indicates the convenience of reviewing the pathologic diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease in two ways: firstly, specific techniques for neurofibrillary degeneration should be included and secondly, the plaques with neurofibrillary degeneration should be quantified since diffuse plaques without degeneration appear to have a questionable significance with respect to this diagnosis.

Aged↗

PubMed1992

Cholinesterase histochemistry in the human brain: effect of various fixation and storage conditions.

Human brains fixed in 3 conventional solutions were used to compare acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase labeling after being processed by the same histochemical procedure. The best fixative was found to be 4% paraformaldehyde in a 0.1 M phosphate buffer for 24-42 h. The addition of 2% glutaraldehyde to 2% paraformaldehyde for the same fixation time reduced the staining intensity of both enzymes. Formalin after 2 days resulted in a lighter staining intensity of fibers, senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, whereas after 10 days it caused the near disappearance of acetylcholinesterase-positive fibers. Finally, after more than 10 days in formalin, a certain number of senile plaques and a few neurofibrillary tangles could be observed, and those only in the case in which the substrate concentration and incubation time were increased. The fixed tissue, in either blocks or sections, can be stored for more than 1 year in a glycol solution at -17 degrees C, without the inconvenience of freezing, with good histology and histochemical preservation of both enzymes.

Acetylcholinesterase↗

PubMed1987

Neural inputs into the temporopolar cortex of the rhesus monkey.

Temporopolar cortex (TP) can be subdivided into agranular, dysgranular, and granular components. The telencephalic input into the temporopolar cortex arises from the orbitofrontal and medial frontal regions, modality-specific visual and auditory association areas, paralimbic regions, the piriform olfactory cortex, the hippocampus, the amygdala, the claustrum, and the basal forebrain. Afferents from limbic and paralimbic regions are directed mostly to the agranular and dysgranular sectors of the temporal pole, whereas afferents from isocortical association areas are distributed predominantly within the granular sector. The temporopolar cortex provides a site for the potential convergence of sensory and limbic inputs. Auditory inputs predominate in the dorsolateral part of the temporopolar cortex whereas visual inputs become prominent only in the ventral portions of this region. Olfactory inputs are directed mostly to the medial parts of the temporal pole. These medial parts also receive more extensive projections from the amygdaloid nuclei.

Amino Acids↗