IMMUNOCYTOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF TA U-PROTEINS DURING CEREBRAL AGING OF THE LEMURIAN PRIMATE MICROCEBUS-MURINUS

The immunocytochemistry of Tau proteins in the cortical pyramidal neur ons of the adult microcebes has been studied using antibodies against human normal and pathological Tau proteins. Same changes related to th e age and to some pathologies were observed. In fact, during the adult life, Tau proteins appeared as very thin granulations scattered in th e whole neuronal cytoplasm. With age, a part of these proteins aggrega ted and became like thick granules at the neuron periphery; the distri bution war not uniform, and numerous neurons with aggregated Tau prote ins were observed in amyloid plaque-containing brains. Abnormally phos phorylated Tau proteins were also observed in some aged animals, using an absorbed anti-PHF recognizing the pathological Tau proteins charac teristic of Alzheimer's disease. This present work confirms that the m icrocebe is a good model for studying disfunctions involved in the nor mal cerebral aging and in some neurodegenerative disorders which affec t humans.