Immunostaining pattern of the temporal white matter with anti-tau-1 and anti-
ubiquitin was different in examined cases of
Alzheimer's disease (AD) and normal aging.
Tau-1 immunoreactivity was observed in the white matter of all AD brains, in loosely dispersed neuropil threads (NT), a few neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) and scattered glial cells, whereas in majority of senile brains the white matter was immunonegative.
Ubiquitin immunoreactivity characterized by dot-like structures, evenly distributed throughout the white matter, was observed in all cases examined being more prominent in AD than in senile brains. The dot-like structures were unrelated to
tau-1 immunostaining pattern, as neither NT and NFT nor glial cells were
ubiquitin labeled. It was concluded, that different immunostaining with both
antibodies used reflects variable pathological changes identified mostly in nerve fibers. There are neurofibrillary changes manifested by
tau-1 labeled NT. However, they differed from cortical NT by lack of
ubiquitin immunostaining. Non-filamentous
ubiquitin-positive depots represent presumably nonspecific nerve fiber changes related to various pathological events, including AD and aging process.