Molecular cloning and characterization of a cDNA encoding the cerebrovascular and the neuritic plaque amyloid peptides
Deposits of amyloid fibers are found in large numbers in the walls of blood vessels and in neuritic plaques in the brains of patients with Alzheimer disease and adults with Down syndrome. The authors used the amino acid sequence of the amyloid peptide to synthesize oligonucleotide probes specific for the gene encoding this peptide. When a human brain cDNA library was screened with this probe, a clone was found with a 1.7-kilobase insert that contains a long open reading frame coding for 412 amino acid residues including the 28 amino acids of the amyloid peptide. RNA gel blots revealed that a 3.3-kilobase mRNA species was present in the brains of individuals with Alzheimer disease, with Down syndrome, or with not apparent neurological disorders. Southern blots showed that homologous genes are present in the genomic DNA of humans, rabbits, sheep, hamsters, and mice, suggesting that this gene has been conserved through mammalian evolution. Localization of the corresponding genomic sequences on human chromosome 21 suggest a genetic relationship between Alzheimer disease and Down syndrome, and it may explain the early appearance of large numbers of neuritic plaques in adult Down syndrome patients.
- Research Organization:
- Institute for Basic Research, Staten Island, NY
- OSTI ID:
- 5356740
- Journal Information:
- Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.; (United States), Vol. 84:12
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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HUMAN CHROMOSOME 21
BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION
PEPTIDES
AMINO ACID SEQUENCE
RECOMBINANT DNA
DNA-CLONING
ATP
BRAIN
ELECTROPHORESIS
FIBERS
HAMSTERS
MENTAL DISORDERS
MESSENGER-RNA
MICE
NERVOUS SYSTEM DISEASES
PATIENTS
PHOSPHORUS 32
SULFUR 35
ANIMALS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BODY
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
CHROMOSOMES
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DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
DISEASES
DNA
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
HETEROCHROMOSOMES
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
MAMMALS
MOLECULAR STRUCTURE
NERVOUS SYSTEM
NUCLEI
NUCLEIC ACIDS
NUCLEOTIDES
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANS
PHOSPHORUS ISOTOPES
PROTEINS
RADIOISOTOPES
RNA
RODENTS
SULFUR ISOTOPES
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550201* - Biochemistry- Tracer Techniques