Mitochondrial DNA differentiates Alzheimer's disease from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION:

Low content of cell-free mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is a biomarker of early stage Alzheimer's disease (AD), but whether mtDNA is altered in a rapid neurodegenerative dementia such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is unknown.

METHODS:

CSF mtDNA was measured using digital polymerase chain reaction (dPCR) in two independent cohorts comprising a total of 112 patients diagnosed with sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD), probable AD, or non-Alzheimer's type dementia.

RESULTS:

Patients with AD exhibit low mtDNA content in CSF compared with patients diagnosed with sCJD or with non-Alzheimer's type dementias. The CSF concentration of mtDNA does not correlate with Aβ, t-tau, p-tau, and 14-3-3 protein levels in CSF.

DISCUSSION:

Low-CSF mtDNA is not a consequence of brain damage and allows the differential diagnosis of AD from sCJD and other dementias. These results support the hypothesis that mtDNA in CSF is a pathophysiological biomarker of AD.

• Authors: Petar Podlesniy, Franc Llorens, Ewa Golanska, Beata Sikorska, Pawel Liberski, Inga Zerr, Ramon Trullas
• Journal: Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association (Alzheimers Dement) Vol. 12 Issue 5 Pg. 546-55 (05 2016) ISSN: 1552-5279 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 26806388 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2015 Alzheimer's Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Amyloid beta-Peptides
• Biomarkers
• DNA, Mitochondrial
• tau Proteins

Topics

• Alzheimer Disease (diagnosis)
• Amyloid beta-Peptides (cerebrospinal fluid)
• Biomarkers (cerebrospinal fluid)
• Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome (diagnosis)
• DNA, Mitochondrial (cerebrospinal fluid)
• Diagnosis, Differential
• Humans
• tau Proteins (cerebrospinal fluid)