Biomaterial Database

Solving the insoluble. 2006

George Perry

Institute of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA. george.perry@case.edu

Dissection of neurofibrillary tangles has been confounded by the insolubility of their fibers. While the majority of biochemical studies have considered tau filaments equivalent to neurofibrillary tangles, they forget that the former are soluble and the latter completely resistant to solvents. What, then, accounts for the insolubility of neurofibrillary tangles while tau filaments are soluble? Investigation of these distinctions played a critical role in our findings on proteolytic abnormalities and oxidative stress.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D001921	Brain	The part of CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM that is contained within the skull (CRANIUM). Arising from the NEURAL TUBE, the embryonic brain is comprised of three major parts including PROSENCEPHALON (the forebrain); MESENCEPHALON (the midbrain); and RHOMBENCEPHALON (the hindbrain). The developed brain consists of CEREBRUM; CEREBELLUM; and other structures in the BRAIN STEM.	Encephalon
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000544	Alzheimer Disease	A degenerative disease of the BRAIN characterized by the insidious onset of DEMENTIA. Impairment of MEMORY, judgment, attention span, and problem solving skills are followed by severe APRAXIAS and a global loss of cognitive abilities. The condition primarily occurs after age 60, and is marked pathologically by severe cortical atrophy and the triad of SENILE PLAQUES; NEUROFIBRILLARY TANGLES; and NEUROPIL THREADS. (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, pp1049-57)	Acute Confusional Senile Dementia,Alzheimer's Diseases,Dementia, Alzheimer Type,Dementia, Senile,Presenile Alzheimer Dementia,Senile Dementia, Alzheimer Type,Alzheimer Dementia,Alzheimer Disease, Early Onset,Alzheimer Disease, Late Onset,Alzheimer Sclerosis,Alzheimer Syndrome,Alzheimer Type Senile Dementia,Alzheimer's Disease,Alzheimer's Disease, Focal Onset,Alzheimer-Type Dementia (ATD),Dementia, Presenile,Dementia, Primary Senile Degenerative,Early Onset Alzheimer Disease,Familial Alzheimer Disease (FAD),Focal Onset Alzheimer's Disease,Late Onset Alzheimer Disease,Primary Senile Degenerative Dementia,Senile Dementia, Acute Confusional,Alzheimer Dementias,Alzheimer Disease, Familial (FAD),Alzheimer Diseases,Alzheimer Type Dementia,Alzheimer Type Dementia (ATD),Alzheimers Diseases,Dementia, Alzheimer,Dementia, Alzheimer-Type (ATD),Familial Alzheimer Diseases (FAD),Presenile Dementia,Sclerosis, Alzheimer,Senile Dementia
D016874	Neurofibrillary Tangles	Abnormal structures located in various parts of the brain and composed of dense arrays of paired helical filaments (neurofilaments and microtubules). These double helical stacks of transverse subunits are twisted into left-handed ribbon-like filaments that likely incorporate the following proteins: (1) the intermediate filaments: medium- and high-molecular-weight neurofilaments; (2) the microtubule-associated proteins map-2 and tau; (3) actin; and (4) UBIQUITINS. As one of the hallmarks of ALZHEIMER DISEASE, the neurofibrillary tangles eventually occupy the whole of the cytoplasm in certain classes of cell in the neocortex, hippocampus, brain stem, and diencephalon. The number of these tangles, as seen in post mortem histology, correlates with the degree of dementia during life. Some studies suggest that tangle antigens leak into the systemic circulation both in the course of normal aging and in cases of Alzheimer disease.	Neurofibrillary Tangle,Tangle, Neurofibrillary,Tangles, Neurofibrillary
D018384	Oxidative Stress	A disturbance in the prooxidant-antioxidant balance in favor of the former, leading to potential damage. Indicators of oxidative stress include damaged DNA bases, protein oxidation products, and lipid peroxidation products (Sies, Oxidative Stress, 1991, pxv-xvi).	Anti-oxidative Stress,Antioxidative Stress,DNA Oxidative Damage,Nitro-Oxidative Stress,Oxidative Cleavage,Oxidative DNA Damage,Oxidative Damage,Oxidative Injury,Oxidative Nitrative Stress,Oxidative Stress Injury,Oxidative and Nitrosative Stress,Stress, Oxidative,Anti oxidative Stress,Anti-oxidative Stresses,Antioxidative Stresses,Cleavage, Oxidative,DNA Damage, Oxidative,DNA Oxidative Damages,Damage, DNA Oxidative,Damage, Oxidative,Damage, Oxidative DNA,Injury, Oxidative,Injury, Oxidative Stress,Nitrative Stress, Oxidative,Nitro Oxidative Stress,Nitro-Oxidative Stresses,Oxidative Cleavages,Oxidative DNA Damages,Oxidative Damage, DNA,Oxidative Damages,Oxidative Injuries,Oxidative Nitrative Stresses,Oxidative Stress Injuries,Oxidative Stresses,Stress Injury, Oxidative,Stress, Anti-oxidative,Stress, Antioxidative,Stress, Nitro-Oxidative,Stress, Oxidative Nitrative,Stresses, Nitro-Oxidative