MEASURING SYNAPTOSOMAL ASSOCIATED PROTEIN-25 KDA IN HUMAN CEREBRAL SPINAL-FLUID

Changes in the quantity and distribution of neuronal proteins have bee n reported in psychiatric and neurological illnesses. The majority of this work has been performed in post-mortem samples and the results ar e difficult to apply to clinical care. The objective of this study is to develop a methodology that can identify trace amounts of brain prot eins in cerebral spinal fluid (CSF). Human cerebral spinal fluid was p rocessed to remove albumin and immunoglobulins. CSF samples were analy zed on Western blots using a monoclonal antibody against SNAP-25. Thes e samples were compared to SNAP-25 immunoprecipitated from CSF, rat an d human brain homogenates. The monoclonal antibody Mab 331 identified a single band of 25 kDa in all samples. These results demonstrate that the presynaptic protein SNAP-25 can be identified and measured in CSF . (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.