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Decreased phospholipase A2 activity in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with dementia

  • Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders - Original Article
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Abstract

Phospholipase A2 (PLA2) is involved in important aspects of dementia, for example neurotransmission and memory processing, membrane function, choline availability, and antioxidative defense. Reduced PLA2-activity has been reported so far in blood samples and postmortem neuronal tissue in Alzheimer disease. For the first time, we studied PLA2 in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in Alzheimer disease (AD), vascular (VD), and mixed Alzheimer/vascular dementia (MD). Intracellular PLA2 was assessed in CSF of 16 AD, 12 VD, 15 MD patients, and 19 healthy control subjects. A fluorometric assay was applied using the PLA2-specific substrate NBDC6-HPC. Significantly reduced PLA2 activity was not only found in AD, but also in VD and MD. This finding was independent of demographic co-variates and medication. PLA2 results in CSF corroborate previous findings of impaired PLA2 function in Alzheimer’s disease and extend these to patients with VD. They are likely to reflect an involvement of PLA2 impairment in a variety of pathomechanisms crucial in different dementia subtypes, in which disruption of cholinergic neurotransmission and disturbance of intact membrane function appear to be the key mechanisms.

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Acknowledgments

Dr Stefan Smesny was supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG), grant Sm 68/1-1. Prof Jürgen Lasch was getting financial support by the German Research Foundation (DFG), grant LA 759/5-1. The financial support by the DFG was helpful and necessary to prepare and perform the chemical analysis of PLA2 activity in CSF. The authors would also like to thank the staff of the Department of Psychiatry and the Department of Neurology of the University of Jena for their extensive support in performing the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Philosophenweg 3, 07743, Jena, Germany

    Stefan Smesny, Susan Stein & Heinrich Sauer

  2. Department of Physiological Chemistry, Martin-Luther-University, Halle/Wittenberg, Hollystraße 1, 06097, Halle, Germany

    Ingo Willhardt & Jürgen Lasch

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  1. Stefan Smesny
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  2. Susan Stein
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Correspondence to Stefan Smesny.

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Smesny, S., Stein, S., Willhardt, I. et al. Decreased phospholipase A2 activity in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with dementia. J Neural Transm 115, 1173–1179 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-008-0081-0

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