Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2013 Dec;48(12):1505-8.

Amyloid precursor protein expression is enhanced in human platelets from subjects with Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration: a real-time PCR study

Arianna Vignini, Stefano Morganti, Eleonora Salvolini, Davide Sartini, Simona Luzzi, Rosamaria Fiorini, Leandro Provinciali, Roberto Di Primio, Laura Mazzanti, Monica Emanuelli
  • PMID: 24400342
Comparative Study

Amyloid precursor protein expression is enhanced in human platelets from subjects with Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration: a real-time PCR study

Arianna Vignini et al. Exp Gerontol. 2013 Dec.

Abstract

Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) represent the most frequent causes of early-onset and late-onset degenerative dementia, respectively. A correct diagnosis entails the choice of appropriate therapies. In this view the present study aimed to identify biomarkers that could improve the differential diagnosis. We recently found an overexpression of platelet amyloid precursor protein (APP) in AD; furthermore, recent studies have suggested the presence of changes in APP processing in FTLD. In this context, we analyzed the mRNA expression level of Total APP (TOT) and APP containing a Kunitz-type serine protease inhibitor domain (KPI) in platelets obtained from AD patients, subjects with FTLD, and healthy subjects. In addition, we evaluated the correlation between platelet APP mRNA expression levels and cognitive impairment.Differential gene expression measurements revealed a significant up-regulation of APP TOT and APP KPI in both AD and FTLD patients compared to the controls (being AD/Controls: 1.67 for APP TOT and 1.47 for APP KPI; FTLD/Controls: 1.62 for APP TOT and 1.51 for APP KPI; p < 0.05), although it is interesting to note that in FTLD patients this expression did not correlate with the severity of cognitive impairment.This could be related to a reduced beta-amyloid (Aβ) formation, caused by an alteration of secretase enzymatic activity, even though a post-transcriptional regulation of APP mRNAs in FTLD cannot be excluded.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

MeSH terms