Circulating immune complexes of Abeta and IgM in plasma of patients with Alzheimer's disease

J Neural Transm (Vienna). 2009 Jul;116(7):913-20. doi: 10.1007/s00702-009-0224-y. Epub 2009 May 5.

Abstract

It has previously been shown that immune complexes (IC) of a given biomarker with class M immunoglobulins (IgM) provide better performances compared to the unbound biomarker in a number of cancer entities. In the present work, we investigated IC of IgM-Abeta as a potential biomarker for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Abeta-IgM concentration has been measured in 75 plasma samples from patients with AD, individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and healthy age- and sex-matched controls (HC). To characterize the fractions associated with Abeta, pooled plasma samples were subjected to gel-filtration analysis. Size-separated fractions were analyzed for the presence of Abeta using a sandwich ELISA assay. A strong reactivity was observed in the high molecular weight IgM (>500 kDa) and 150 kDa (IgG) fractions indicating that blood Abeta is strongly associated with antibodies. Using an ELISA assay detecting Abeta-IgM complexes, we observed that high levels of Abeta-IgMs were detectable in HC and MCI patients; however, there was no significant difference to the AD group.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Alzheimer Disease / blood*
  • Alzheimer Disease / immunology*
  • Alzheimer Disease / physiopathology
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / analysis
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / blood*
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / immunology*
  • Antigen-Antibody Complex / analysis
  • Antigen-Antibody Complex / blood*
  • Biomarkers / analysis
  • Biomarkers / blood
  • Brain / immunology
  • Brain / metabolism
  • Brain / physiopathology
  • Disease Progression
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Immunoglobulin M / analysis
  • Immunoglobulin M / blood*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Sensitivity and Specificity

Substances

  • Amyloid beta-Peptides
  • Antigen-Antibody Complex
  • Biomarkers
  • Immunoglobulin M