Author/Editor		Praprotnik, D
Title		Senilni plaki in nevrofibrilarne pentlje pri Alzheimerjevi bolezni
Translated title		Senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in Alzheimer's disease
Type		članek
Source		Med Razgl
Vol. and No.		Letnik 34, št. 3
Publication year		1995
Volume		str. 327-35
Language		slo
Abstract		Senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles diagnostically define Alzheimer's disease. Together with dementia they constitute the original description of this disease, which was formed almost a century ago. But the role of these lesions in the etiopathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease is still not clear. Senile plaques are comprised of fibrillary deposits of amyloid beta which are present in the center of the lesion, and surrounded by dystrophic neurites. Immunohistochemical studies have shown that senile plaques besides amyloid beta and beta-precursor protein also contain various enzymes and components of the extracellular matrix. The source of amyloid beta in the senile plaques and the possible primary structure on which amyloid is deposited are still a matter of controversy. Neurofibrillary tangles are composed of a different type abnormal filamets, i.e. paired helical filaments and straight filaments. These filaments appear as a result of the disruption of the normal neuronal cytoskeleton. Neurofibrillary tangles contain protein tau as their main antigenic determinant, but besides that some other constituents, as ubiquitin, neurofilaments, amyloid beta/beta-precursor protein and various enzymes are also present. The cause and mechanism of incorporation of these components into neurofibrillary tangles is still not resolved. This paper presents some new information about the composition of senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. The results of some recent studies suggest active participation and interaction of these lesions in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease.
Summary		Senilni plaki in nevrofibrilarne pentlje diagnostično označujejo Alzheimerjevo bolezen. Poleg demence spadajo v osnovni opis polezni, ki je bil podan že pred skoraj sto leti. Vloga teh lezij v etiopatogenezi Alzheimerjeve bolezni pa še do danes ni pojasnjena. Senilne plake sestavljajo izvencelični fibrilarni depoziti amiloida beta, ki se nahajajo v osrednjem delu, obdajajo pa jih distrofični nevriti. Z imunohistokemičnimi metodami so prikazali, da senilni plaki poleg amiloida beta in beta-prekurzorske beljakovine vsebujejo tudi razne encime in sestavine ekstracelularnega matriksa. Izvor amiloida beta v senilnih plakih in primarna struktura, na kateri naj bi se amiloid odlagal, sta še vedno predmet razprav. Nevrofibrilarne pentlje sestavlja drugačna vrsta nenormalnih filamentov, t.i parni zviti in ravni filamenti, ki nastajajo ob razpadu normalnega citoskeleta živčnih celic. Nevrofibrilarne pentlje kot glavno antigensko determinanto vsebujejo protein, tau poleg tega pa tudi razne druge sestavine, kot so ubikvitin, nevrofilamenti, amiloid beta oziroma beta-prekurzorsko beljakovina in različni encimi. Vzrok in način vključevanja teh sestavin v nevrofibrilarne pentlje še ni pojasnjen. V članku so opisana novejša spoznanja o sestavi senilnih plakov in nevrofibrilarnih pentelj. Ugotovitve novejših študij kažejo na bistven pomen in povezanost teh dveh vrst lezij v patogenezi Alzheimerjeve bolezni.
Descriptors		ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE NEUROFIBRILLARY TANGLES AMYLOID BETA-PROTEIN TAU PROTEINS AMYLOID BETA-PROTEIN PRECURSOR