The ABri is a 34 residue peptide that is the major component of amyloid deposits in familial British dementia. In the amyloid deposits, the ABri peptide adopts aggregated beta-pleated sheet structures, similar to those formed by the Abeta peptide of Alzheimer's disease and other amyloid forming proteins. As a first step toward elucidating the molecular mechanisms of the beta-amyloidosis, we exp...

Reelin is a large extracellular glycoprotein required for proper neuronal positioning during development. In the adult brain, Reelin plays a crucial modulatory role in the induction of synaptic plasticity and successful formation of long-term memory. Recently, alterations in Reelin-mediated signaling have been suggested to contribute to neuronal dysfunction associated with Alzheimer's disease (...

Long-term behavioral effects, changes in learning and memory functions and aberrations of cholinergic fibers projecting to the parietal cortex were investigated after bilateral injections of beta-amyloid(Phe(SO3H)24)25-35 peptide in rat nucleus basalis magnocellularis (nbm). The beta-amyloid peptide used in these experiments contained the original beta-amyloid 25-35 sequence which was coupled t...

The role of iron in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is still unclear, despite the evidence that it accumulates in the same brain regions characterized by the amyloid beta peptide (Abeta) accumulation. Here we propose that iron directly influences the Abeta production through the modulation of furin, a proconvertase involved in the regulation of the alpha-secretase-dependent process...

Introduction: Oxidative stress plays a key role in the pathophysiology of the Alzheimer's disease and it seems that antioxidants may slow the progress of the disease. The current study aimed at investigating the possible protective effects of callistephin (a natural flavonoid) against amyloid β (Aβ)-induced neurogenesis deficits in rats. Methods: Adult Wistar male rats in the current...

Distinct interrelationships between inflammation and beta-amyloid-associated degeneration, the two major hallmarks of the skeletal muscle pathology in sporadic inclusion body myositis (sIBM), have remained elusive. Expression of markers relevant for these pathomechanisms were analysed in biopsies of sIBM, polymyositis (PM), dermatomyositis (DM), dystrophic and non-myopathic muscle as controls, ...

Alzheimer's disease is accompanied by progressive, time-dependent changes of three moieties of amyloid beta. In vitro models therefore should provide same conditions for more physiologic studies. Here we observed changes in the number of fibrils over time and studied the correlation between amyloid beta moieties and neurotoxicity. Although the number of fibrils increased dramatically, the chang...