Neuritic plaques and cerebrovascular amyloid in Alzheimer disease are antigenically related.

A synthetic peptide (Asp-Ala-Glu-Phe-Arg-His-Asp-Ser-Gly-Tyr), homologous to the amino terminus of a protein purified from cerebrovascular amyloid (beta protein), induced antibodies in BALB/c mice that were used immunohistochemically to stain not only amyloid-laden cerebral vessels but neuritic plaques as well. These findings suggest that the amyloid in neuritic plaques shares antigenic determinants with beta protein of cerebral vessels. Since the amino acid compositions of plaque amyloid and cerebrovascular amyloid are similar, it is likely that plaque amyloid also consists of beta protein. This possibility suggests a model for the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease involving beta protein.