MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODY AGAINST THE POLYMORPHIC SITE DISTINGUISHES APOLIPOPROTEIN E4 FROM OTHER ISOFORMS

Apolipoprotein E4 has been confirmed as a genetic risk factor for Alzh eimer's disease. Although several hypotheses have been advanced to exp lain how the inheritance of apolipoprotein E isoforms affects the rate of Alzheimer's disease expression, the mechanism whereby apolipoprote in E is involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease is still u ncertain. To clarify the way in which the apolipoprotein E4 isoform di ffers from the others, we generated a monoclonal antibody specifically reactive with the apolipoprotein E4 isoform. This antibody suggests t hat the polymorphic site is important in differentiating the ApoE4 iso form from others. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.