Hippocampal drebrin loss in mild cognitive impairment

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Alterations in the relative abundance of synaptic proteins may contribute to hippocampal synaptic dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The extent to which perturbations in synaptic protein expression occur during the earliest stages of cognitive decline remains unclear. We examined protein levels of presynaptic synaptophysin (SYP) and synaptotagmin (SYT), and postsynaptic drebrin (DRB), a marker for dendritic spine plasticity, in the hippocampus of people with an antemortem clinical diagnosis of no cognitive impairment (NCI), mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or mild/moderate AD. Although normalized SYP and SYT levels were preserved, DRB was reduced by approximately 40% in the hippocampus of MCI and AD compared to NCI subjects. This differential alteration of synaptic markers in MCI suggests a selective impairment in hippocampal postsynaptic dendritic plasticity in prodromal AD that likely heralds the onset of memory impairment in symptomatic disease. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Keywords

Alzheimer's disease, Drebrin, Hippocampus, Mild cognitive impairment, Synaptic protein, Synaptophysin, Synaptotagmin

Publication Date

4-1-2012

Publication Title

Neurodegenerative Diseases

ISSN

16602854

E-ISSN

16602862

Volume

10

Issue

1-4

First Page

216

Last Page

219

PubMed ID

22310934

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1159/000333122

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