Abstract: Objective To investigate the expression of Alzheimer-associated neuronal thread protein(AD7C-NTP) in the brain of patients with Alzheimer's disease(AD), as well as in swine and mice, so as to determine the source of tissues rich in AD7C-NTP. Methods The distribution of AD7C-NTP in the brain of pig and mouse was investigated with immunohistochemical methods. SDS-PAGE and Western blot were applied to detect the expression of AD7C-NTP in the brain of patients with AD as well as in pigs and mice. Results The results of immunohistochemistry indicated that AD7C-NTP immunoreactive positive neurons were observed in the cerebral cortices of pigs and hippocampi of mice. The results of Western blot indicated that a band of about 41 000 bp was detected with the antibody of AD7C-NTP against C-terminal in the brain of patients with AD and in pigs. Conclusion The existence of AD7C-NTP in the brain of patients with AD is confirmed; AD7C-NTP is also found in the brain of swine, so that it can be considered as a source for extraction of purified AD7C-NTP protein, which can be used as the experimental material for AD7C-NTP diagnostic kit.

Key words: Alzheimer-associated neuronal thread protein, Alzheimer's disease