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Originally published online as doi:10.2353/ajpath.2008.080434 on September 25, 2008

Published online before print September 25, 2008
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(American Journal of Pathology. 2008;173:1488-1495.)
© 2008 American Society for Investigative Pathology
DOI: 10.2353/ajpath.2008.080434

Caspase-3 Is Enriched in Postsynaptic Densities and Increased in Alzheimer’s Disease

Natalia Louneva*, Julia W. Cohen*, Li-Ying Han*, Konrad Talbot*, Robert S. Wilson{dagger}, David A. Bennett{dagger}, John Q. Trojanowski{ddagger} and Steven E. Arnold*

From the Center for Neurobiology and Behavior* and the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research,{ddagger} University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center,{dagger} Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois

Progressive synaptic degeneration and neuron loss are major structural correlates of cognitive impairment in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The mechanisms by which synaptic degeneration in AD occurs have not been established. The activation of proteins within the caspase family has been implicated in AD-associated neurodegeneration, and synaptically localized caspase activity could play a role in the synaptic degeneration and loss found in AD. We used synaptosomal fractionation with Western blotting and immunohistochemistry to examine the anatomical, subcellular, and subsynaptic expression patterns of caspase 3 in both the anterior cingulate cortex and hippocampus of control and AD patients. In both control and AD cases, there was a selective enrichment of caspase- 3 at synapses, particularly in the postsynaptic density (PSD) fractions. Compared with controls, AD patients exhibited significant increases in synaptic procaspase- 3 and active caspase-3 expression levels that were most evident in the PSD fractions. These data demonstrate for the first time the preferential localization and increase of caspase-3 in the PSD fractions in AD and suggest an important role for caspase 3 in synapse degeneration during disease progression.






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