ELISA-quantitation of phosphorylated tau protein in the Alzheimer's disease brain

A reliable, sensitive and specific sandwich ELISA for the quantitation of p aired helical filament (PHF) tau in human brain was developed using well-de fined monoclonal antibodies. We examined rapid-autopsy-derived brain tissue from 21 neuropathologically confirmed Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients an d 14 nondemented controls, matched for age, sex and postmortem delay times, We demonstrated significant elevations of phosphorylated tau levels in the frontal and parietal cortex as well as in the hippocampus of AD patients a s compared to the nondemented controls. No difference was observed in the c erebellum. Phosphorylated tau levels measured by ELISA were significantly c orrelated with the presence or absence of neurofibrillary tangles. Copyrigh t (C) 1999 S. Karger AG, Basel.