Abstract
Herpes zoster is associated with an increased dementia and neovascular macular degeneration risk and a decline in glycemic control in diabetes mellitus. Because amyloid is present and pathogenic in these diseases, we quantified amyloid, Aβ40, Aβ42, and amylin in 14 zoster and 10 control plasmas. Compared with controls, zoster plasma had significantly elevated amyloid that correlated with Aβ42 and amylin levels and increased amyloid aggregation with addition of exogenous Aβ42 or amylin. These results suggest that zoster plasma contains factor(s) that promotes aggregation of amyloidogenic peptides, potentially contributing to the toxic amyloid burden and explaining accelerated disease progression following zoster.
Keywords:
Amylin; Amyloid; Aβ40; Aβ42; Herpes zoster; Varicella zoster virus.
Publication types
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Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
MeSH terms
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Adult
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Aged
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Aged, 80 and over
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Amyloid beta-Peptides / blood
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Amyloid beta-Peptides / genetics*
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Case-Control Studies
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Female
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Gene Expression
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Herpes Zoster / blood*
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Herpes Zoster / genetics
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Herpes Zoster / pathology
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Herpesvirus 3, Human / growth & development
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Herpesvirus 3, Human / pathogenicity*
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Host-Pathogen Interactions / genetics
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Humans
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Islet Amyloid Polypeptide / blood
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Islet Amyloid Polypeptide / genetics*
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Male
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Middle Aged
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Peptide Fragments / blood
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Peptide Fragments / genetics*
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Protein Aggregates
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Protein Aggregation, Pathological / blood*
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Protein Aggregation, Pathological / genetics
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Protein Aggregation, Pathological / pathology
Substances
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Amyloid beta-Peptides
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Islet Amyloid Polypeptide
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Peptide Fragments
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Protein Aggregates
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amyloid beta-protein (1-40)
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amyloid beta-protein (1-42)