Up-regulation of calcineurin A beta mRNA in the Alzheimer's disease brain:Assessment by cDNA microarray

Recent advances in cDNA microarray technology have made it possible to anal yze expression of more than 8000 genes. Using this technology, gene express ion in the hippocampus containing neurofibrillary tangle-associated lesions from an Alzheimer's disease (AD) patient was compared with expression in t he parietal;cortex from the same patient that lacked these lesions. We also compared gene expression using a control brain. The top 20 named genes sig nificantly up-regulated or down-regulated only in the AD brain were determi ned. The most up-regulated gene proved to be calcineurin A beta mRNA (CA be ta). In situ hybridization histochemistry revealed that CA beta was signifi cantly up-regulated in pyramidal neurons of the hippocampus in the AD brain . RT-PCR analysis revealed that CA beta was up-regulated in the hippocampus from two out of three AD brains while there were no changes in three contr ol brains. Our study suggests that CA beta may play a crucial role in the p athophysiological mechanisms in AD. (C) 2001 Academic Press.