NEUROFIBRILLARY TANGLE-ASSOCIATED ALTERATION OF STATHMIN IN ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE

Stathmin (p19), a 19-kDa cytosolic phosphoprotein, plays a key role in converting extracellular signals into intracellular biochemical chang es. Antibodies and cDNA specific for stathmin were used to study its l evels and localization in normal and Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain ti ssue. The stathmin protein concentration was reduced in AD neocortex a s assessed by Western blotting, whereas the concentration of its mRNA detected by both in situ hybridization and slot blot were increased in AD. The alteration of the stathmin protein concentration was negative ly correlated with neurofibrillary tangle numbers but not with plaque numbers. Immunoreactivity was evenly localized to the cytoplasm of neu rons in control cortical sections, whereas in AD it was preferentially localized to some of the neurofibrillary tangle-bearing neurons. Numb ers of stathmin-positive neurons were inversely correlated with tangle numbers but not with plaque numbers in the frontal cortex of AD patie nts.