Absence of the cystatin C amyloid in the cerebral amyloid angiopathy, senile plaque, and extra-CNS amyloid deposits of aged Japanese.

Abstract

Amyloid protein in Icelandic patients with hereditary cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is a variant of cystatin C. Immunoreactivities of the cystatin C and other amyloid proteins were investigated in CAA and other senile amyloid deposits in the Japanese sporadic aged cases including patients with dementia of Alzheimer type, and compared with those in Icelandic hereditary CAA. Compared with positive reaction of cystatin C in Icelandic hereditary CAA, no immunoreactivity of cystatin C was found in senile amyloid deposits of the Japanese aged including CAA. Immunoreactivity of the amyloid beta protein was negative in Icelandic hereditary CAA, for which CAA and senile plaque amyloid in the Japanese senile brains were positive. Our data suggest that the cystatin C amyloid would be present only in hereditary CAA, but not in the CAA and other senile amyloid deposits of the sporadic aged cases.