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Immunoreactive epidermal growth factor receptors in neuritic plaques from patients with Alzheimer's disease
Birecree E, Whetsell WO, Stoscheck C, King LE, Nanney LB.. Journal of neuropathology and experimental neurology, 1988-09-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized neuropathologically by the presence of neuritic plaques (NP) in cerebral cortex and hippocampus, as well as intraneuronal neurofibrillary tangles and granulovacuolar degeneration. The etiology of plaque formation has remained obscure, but morphologically NP are known to contain amyloid cores surrounded by astrocytes and degenerating neurons. Although growth factors are important in growth, differentiation and regrowth in response to injury, studies relating growth factors to AD have been lacking. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) plays an important role outside the central nervous system (CNS) through interaction with its specific receptor, EGF-R. Using an antibody to EGF-R (three-step immunoperoxidase staining) in conjunction with fluorescence staining, we found that the majority of NP from patients with pathologically confirmed AD as well as those few NP in the normal aging brain showed intense EGF-R immunoreactivity. Specific staining was seen at the periphery of plaques but not in the central amyloid core. Tissue sections from AD cases were also reacted with antibodies to both glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and paired helical filaments (PHF) in an attempt to identify which component of the NP was reactive for EGF-R. The antibody to PHF densely stained the periphery of NP but not the central core in a majority of NP. The antibody to GFAP stained a few reactive astrocytes that bordered plaques in only a small proportion of all plaques present. We conclude that the neuron and its processes although not exclusively may be the site of EGF-R immunoreactivity. An EGF/EGF-R system within the CNS may play an important part in scar formation in response to neuronal injury and death or it may function as a trophic factor important in axonal or dendritic sprouting. It is also possible that EGF could serve as a neurotransmitter/neuromodulator in the CNS.
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APA 7th
Birecree, E., Whetsell, W. O., Stoscheck, C., King, L. E., & Nanney, L. B. (1988). Immunoreactive epidermal growth factor receptors in neuritic plaques from patients with Alzheimer's disease. Journal of neuropathology and experimental neurology. https://doi.org/10.1097/00005072-198809000-00006
Vancouver
Birecree E, Whetsell WO, Stoscheck C, King LE, Nanney LB. Immunoreactive epidermal growth factor receptors in neuritic plaques from patients with Alzheimer's disease. Journal of neuropathology and experimental neurology. 1988. doi:10.1097/00005072-198809000-00006. PMID: 3049945.
BibTeX
@article{birecree1988-3049945,
author = {Birecree, E. and Whetsell, W. O. and Stoscheck, C. and King, L. E. and Nanney, L. B.},
title = {{Immunoreactive epidermal growth factor receptors in neuritic plaques from patients with Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Journal of neuropathology and experimental neurology},
year = {1988},
doi = {10.1097/00005072-198809000-00006},
pmid = {3049945},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1097/00005072-198809000-00006}
}
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Key findings
- Using an antibody to EGF-R (three-step immunoperoxidase staining) in conjunction with fluorescence staining, we found that the majority of NP from patients with pathologically confirmed AD as well as those few NP in the normal aging brain showed intense EGF-R immunoreactivity.
- We conclude that the neuron and its processes although not exclusively may be the site of EGF-R immunoreactivity.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 36/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 21 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 36 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of neuropathology and experimental neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 1988 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 3049945) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 21 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 21 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 36 out of 100. |
| Total | 36 / 100 | — |
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