Brief Report: Apolipoprotein E ϵ4 allele does not correlate with amyloid plaques in transmissible spongiform encephalopathies

Abstract

Apolipoprotein E ϵ4 allele has been repeatedly correlated with late-onset familial and sporadic Alzheimer's disease. Apolipoprotein E has been localized to amyloid plaques of Alzheimer's disease and of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. In this study, apoE ϵ4 frequencies were examined in two distinct populations affected by kuru and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (two transmissible spongiform encephalopathies with varying amounts of amyloid plaques). We then correlated apolipoprotein E genotypes to neuropathological findings of plaques in the same patients. The results demonstrate both amyloid plaque deposition in the absence of the apolipoprotein E ϵ4 allele in kuru and lack of amyloid plaque deposition in the presence of the apolipoprotein E ϵ4 allele in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. We conclude that in transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, apolipoprotein E4 does not seem to contribute to the formation of amyloid plaques.

Key Words:

• AMYLOID
• PLAQUES
• APOLIPOPROTEIN E
• ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
• TRANSMISSIBLE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY