Ubiquitin is a common factor in intermediate filament inclusion bodies of diverse type in man, including those of Parkinson's disease, Pick's disease, and Alzheimer's disease, as well as Rosenthal fibres in cerebellar astrocytomas, cytoplasmic bodies in muscle, and mallory bodies in alcoholic liver disease

Two distinct ubiquitin immunoreactive senile plaques in Alzheimer's disease: relationship with the intellectual status in 29 cases

The aim of this study was the analysis of the development of neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) and senile plaques (SP) during aging and senile dementia of the Alzheimer type. The lesions stained by ubiquitin, tau and beta A4 antibodies were studied in Brodmann's area 22 (superior temporal gyrus) in 29 cases. Samples were from a group of women over 75 years of age, psychometrically assessed and either normal or affected by Alzheimer's disease at various degrees of severity. NFT were less numerous when revealed by ubiquitin than by tau antibodies, suggesting that ubiquitin immunoreactivity appeared later in the course of the disease. Ubiquitin immunoreactive (IR) SP were made of clusters of IR neurites usually organized around a central amyloid core. Two types of ubiquitin-IR SP were designated. "Globular neurite SP" contained weakly immunostained globular neurites. They were densest in the least affected cases. However, they were not seen in every normal or lightly affected case, and were always present in the most affected ones. The density of these globular neurite SP was not significantly correlated with the severity of dementia, nor with the density of the lesions stained by tau antibodies (neuritic component of SP, NFT and neuropil threads) or by beta A4 antibodies (diffuse or dense deposits). The "curly neurite" type of SP contained curly neurites strongly immunostained by ubiquitin antibodies. They exhibited the highest density in the most affected cases, where they were always present. They were lacking in the least affected cases. They were always found together with the globular neurite SP.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Familial desminopathy: myopathy with accumulation of desmin-type intermediate filaments

Two siblings developed cardiomyopathy several years before slowly progressive muscle weakness. Skeletal muscle biopsy specimens showed subsarcolemmal crescents of dark eosinophilic material in both type I and type II fibres. Immunohistochemically the subsarcolemmal material stained positively for the intermediate filament protein desmin and for the heat shock protein ubiquitin but for no other cytoskeletal proteins. Ultrastructurally the subsarcolemmal deposits consisted of aggregates of granular and filamentous material arising from Z-bands. Follow up muscle biopsies six years later showed an increased number of the muscle fibres that contained subsarcolemmal aggregates that stained positively for desmin and ubiquitin. These clinical and pathological features characterise a rare familial myopathy associated with an unusual distribution of desmin intermediate filament proteins in skeletal and probably also cardiac muscle.

Corpora amylacea could be an indicator of neurodegeneration

We describe an investigation of corpora amylacea (CA) in the brain tissue of Alzheimer's disease (AD) cases and normal ageing controls, using both light (LM) and electron (EM) microscopic techniques. CA populations were shown by routine histological staining of LR White resin sections with methenamine silver and PAS, and were compared with those shown by immunocytochemistry using antibodies to tau, GFAP, tubulin, ubiquitin, beta-amyloid and serum amyloid P component in serial sections. All CA were immunoreactive with anti-tau and all were unreactive with anti-beta-amyloid. Most were immunoreactive with anti-serum amyloid P component, although this was often weak in AD. CA from normal ageing brain were immunoreactive for proteins that are associated with the neuronal cytoskeleton and cell injury. CA from AD brain shared some of these but differed from those in normal ageing brain by being in much larger number and more variable in their immunoreactivity. In all CA, X-ray microanalysis illustrated the presence of the metallic elements Ca, Fe and Cu. Aluminium, often associated with AD, was not present, even in CA from AD brain. Phosphorus and sulphur, probably from phosphorylated proteins associated with degenerating cytoskeleton elements, were usually detected. In AD brain, the greater numbers of CA and their variable biochemical and elemental composition, when compared with CA in the normal ageing brain, suggests that they may derive from a number of sources both neuronal and glial as a result of the neurodegenerative disease.

Rosenthal fibers producing a granular cell appearance in a glioblastoma

In this report we describe a glioblastoma multiforme with focal granular cell change. In most astroglial tumors with granular cells, the granular appearance is due to the presence of periodic acid-Schiff-positive, membrane-bound cellular debris. In the present case the granular appearance was due to the presence of many small Rosenthal fibers, which were immunoreactive for glial fibrillary acidic protein, vimentin, ubiquitin, and heat-shock protein 27, but not for alpha-B crystallin. The ultrastructural characteristics are described. These findings demonstrate that granulofilamentous inclusions with the appearance of Rosenthal fibers in glial tumors are a structurally heterogeneous feature.

Different stability of neurofilaments for trypsin treatment after axotomy in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagal nerve and the hypoglossal nucleus

In an attempt to obtain information about changes of neurofilaments in motor neurons after axotomy, we immuno-histochemically investigated the accumulated neurofilaments in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagal nerve, which shows nerve cell loss and degenerative changes after axotomy, and in the hypoglossal nucleus, which shows regenerative changes. Affected neurons in the hypoglossal nucleus showed intensified immunoreactivities for neurofilament antibodies phosphorylated at the carboxy-terminal, and these reactions disappeared with trypsin treatment. Accumulated neurofilaments in the neuronal perikarya in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagal nerve and axons in brain stem also showed intensified immunoreactivities for the same antibodies, and these reactions remained positive after trypsin treatment. Anti-ubiquitin antibody preferentially stained accumulated neurofilaments in the affected vagal neurons, while no reaction was found in the affected hypoglossal neurons. Phosphorylated neurofilaments in hypoglossal neurons are vulnerable to trypsin treatment probably because of the blocking of polymerization or the disassembly of neurofilaments due to amino-terminal phosphorylation. In vagal neurons, the deteriorated amino-terminal phosphorylation or hyperphosphorylation at the carboxy-terminal seems to cause the cross-linkage and polymerization of neurofilaments, and densely packed polymerized neurofilaments probably fail in axonal transport resulting in nerve cell degeneration and death in the dorsal motor nucleus.

Ubiquitin immunocytochemistry in human spongiform encephalopathies

The distribution of ubiquitin was studied by immunocytochemistry in eight cases of human spongiform encephalopathy and compared with the findings in seven age- and sex-matched cases of Alzheimer's disease and six non-demented control cases. The results were also compared with the immunocytochemical distribution of prion protein and the lysosomal aspartic protease cathepsin D. In the human spongiform encephalopathies, ubiquitin immunoreactivity was found in a punctate distribution at the periphery of prion protein amyloid plaques and in a finely granular pattern in the neuropil around and within areas of spongiform change. Cortical nerve cells contained scanty ubiquitinated dot-like inclusions, and occasional microglia around the areas of spongiform change also gave a positive staining reaction for ubiquitin, as did multiple irregular thread-like structures in the neuropil and white matter. The ubiquitin-containing structures at the plaque periphery in human spongiform encephalopathies resemble the neuritic processes at the periphery of the senile plaque in Alzheimer's disease. The granular positivity for ubiquitin associated with areas of spongiform change closely resembles the pattern of immunostaining seen with the antibodies to the prion protein and cathepsin D, consistent with the reported accumulation of ubiquitinated proteins and prion protein in lysosomes in the murine scrapie model. Further studies are required to investigate the role of lysosomes in this group of disorders, and to study the localization of other cell stress proteins and prion protein in spongiform encephalopathies.

Ubiquitin-positive inclusion in anterior horn cells in subgroups of motor neuron diseases: a comparative study of adult-onset amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, juvenile amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Werdnig-Hoffmann disease

This report concerns the expression of ubiquitin in anterior horn cells of various subgroups of adult and infantile motor neuron disease (MNDs); immunohistochemical techniques were employed. Ubiquitin-positive skein-like inclusions (SLIs) were found in all cases of adult-onset amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), including 16 cases with sporadic ALS, two cases of familial ALS with posterior column degeneration and Lewy body-like hyaline inclusions (LBHIs), two sporadic ALS cases with LBHIs, and three cases of sporadic ALS with dementia. SLIs were not found in anterior horn cells of 5 cases with Werdnig-Hoffmann disease (WHD). However, granular ubiquitin-positive deposits were seen in ballooned neurons of WHD patients. No ubiquitinated materials were found in the perikarya of two sporadic juvenile ALS patients with basophilic inclusions (BIs), but granular ubiquitin-immunoreactive deposits were occasionally observed in the BIs. These results suggest that ubiquitin-positive SLIs are characteristic features of various forms of adult-onset ALS and that aggregated ubiquitinated granules are characteristic of ballooned neurons of WHD. Ubiquitinated structures and their distribution patterns may reflect degenerative processes of anterior horn cells, and may be useful for classifying subgroups of motor neuron diseases.

Histochemical and immunocytochemical study of ubiquitinated neuronal inclusions in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Ubiquinated cytoplasmic inclusions are a characteristic feature of the anterior horn cell pathology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The underlying abnormality leading to the production of these inclusions in this neurodegenerative motor system disease is unknown. Despite the application of a wide range of histochemical and immunocytochemical techniques we have been unable to identify a core constituent protein in these intraneuronal inclusions. A novel approach to this problem is required.

Cerebral soluble ubiquitin is increased in patients with Alzheimer's disease

A study concerning the amount of soluble ubiquitin in different cortical and subcortical regions of brains from patients with Alzheimer's disease compared to the amount in normal brains is presented. Several samples from 9 brain regions were processed and analyzed by liquid chromatography. In almost all the investigated cerebral regions the soluble ubiquitin content was significantly higher in pathologic tissue than in normal tissue. The primary structure of ubiquitin isolated from brain tissue affected by Alzheimer's degenerative processes was determined and resulted to be identical to normal human ubiquitin. These findings, together with the detection of polyubiquitinated proteins in paired helical filaments of neurofibrillary tangles described by several authors, suggest that an impairment of the process of intracellular, ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis might play an important role in the pathogenesis of this neurodegenerative disease. On the other hand, the expression of the correct polypeptide sequence in brain with Alzheimer's disease seems to exclude a mutation of the polyubiquitin gene as a cause of these alterations.

Neurofilament mRNA is reduced in Parkinson's disease substantia nigra pars compacta neurons

Lewy bodies are filamentous neuronal inclusions characteristic of Parkinson's disease, and neurofilament triplet proteins are the major components of the filaments in Lewy bodies. Since the neurofilament proteins found in Lewy bodies are abnormally phosphorylated and partially degraded, the formation of Lewy bodies may be due to the defective metabolism of these proteins, and this could lead to impairments in the structure and function of neurofilament rich neuronal processes (i.e., large caliber axons). To gain further insights into the metabolism of neurofilaments in Parkinson's disease, we evaluated neurofilament mRNA levels by semi-quantitative in situ hybridization histochemistry in postmortem tissues from Parkinson's disease and control subjects. Substantia nigra pars compacta neurons were examined with digoxigenin-UTP labeled cRNA probes to the heavy and light neurofilament mRNAs. The relative abundance of these mRNAs was measured by videodensitometric image analysis of chromogenic reaction product. Using this approach, we demonstrated that the levels of both heavy and light neurofilament mRNAs were reduced in Parkinson's disease substantia nigra pars compacta neurons. Additionally, the levels of heavy neurofilament mRNA were lowest in Lewy body containing neurons in the Parkinson's disease cases. These results suggest that the formation of neurofilament-rich Lewy bodies in substantia nigra pars compacta neurons is associated with reduced levels of the heavy and light neurofilament mRNAs in Parkinson's disease. Thus, it is possible that the accumulation of abnormal neurofilament proteins in Lewy bodies and diminished neurofilament mRNAs contribute to the degeneration of substantia nigra pars compacta neurons in Parkinson's disease.

Ubiquitinated neurites are associated with preamyloid and cerebral amyloid beta deposits in patients with hereditary cerebral hemorrhage with amyloidosis Dutch type

Hereditary cerebral hemorrhage with amyloidosis Dutch type (HCHWA-D) is characterized clinically by recurrent strokes and pathologically by deposition of amyloid beta (A beta) in cerebral vessel walls and, to a lesser extent, in the neuropil. Distinct from Alzheimer's disease, amyloid formation in HCHWA-D is not associated with neurofibrillary changes. Since a central issue in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease and related conditions is the role of A beta in the neurodegenerative process, we investigated HCHWA-D brains for the presence of neuritic abnormalities using antibodies to ubiquitin and to phosphorylated neurofilaments. The study showed that amyloid deposits in the vessel walls and in the neuropil were surrounded by abnormal ubiquitinated neurites, suggesting that A beta deposition induces neuritic changes.

Ubiquitin in neurodegenerative diseases

Immunochemical staining to detect ubiquitin has become an essential technique in evaluating neurodegenerative processes. Age related staining is seen in myelin, in nerve processes in lysosome-related dense bodies, and in corpora amylacea. There is a constant association between filamentous inclusions and the presence of ubiquitin. Intermediate filaments associated with ubiquitin, alpha B crystallin and enzymes of the ubiquitin pathway are the basis of Lewy bodies and Rosenthal fibres, as well as related bodies outside the nervous system. Neurofibrillary tangles in diverse diseases are associated with ubiquitin as are several other tau containing inclusions in both neurones and glia. Inclusions in motor neurones and non-motor cortex characterizing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and certain related forms of frontal lobe dementia can only be readily detected by anti-ubiquitin. Anti-ubiquitin also identifies both filamentous and lysosomal structures in neuronal processes as well as in some swollen neurones. Involvement of ubiquitin-containing elements of the lysosomal system appears important in pathogenesis of prion encephalopathies. Despite great advances in understanding cell biology of the ubiquitin pathway there are as yet few insights into the precise role played by ubiquitin in neuronal disease.

Oxygen free radicals as inducers of heat shock protein synthesis in cultured human neuroblastoma cells: relevance to neurodegenerative disease

We studied heat shock protein (HSP) synthesis by cultured human neuroblastoma cells in response to either hyperthermia or high levels of superoxide anion (oxygen free radical). Both treatment modalities resulted in induced synthesis of the same major HSP species with an additive effect on the latter and on cell growth inhibition upon combined treatments. Exposure to superoxide anion in the presence of the free radical scavenging enzymes, superoxide dismutase and catalase improved cell survival and prevented HSP induction. These findings suggest a common mechanism by which various forms of injury, such as hyperthermia, cause HSP induction, that is, via oxidative stress or increased production of oxygen free radicals. Increased expression of some HSPs has been detected in association with the pathological lesions that characterize some neurodegenerative diseases such as the neurofibrillary tangles of Alzheimer's disease. This, in turn, suggests that chronic oxidative stress may play a role in the pathogenesis of these disorders.

2,5-Hexanedione-induced intermediate filament aggregates contain ubiquitin-protein conjugate immunoreactivity and resemble Rosenthal fibres

A number of chronic degenerative disorders including cerebellar astrocytomas and Parkinson's disease are characterized by the presence of cytosolic inclusions which contain intermediate filament (IF) aggregates and ubiquitin-protein conjugate immunoreactivity. In cerebellar astrocytomas these inclusions are known as Rosenthal fibres. 2,5-hexanedione (HD) treatment is known to induce IF aggregates in cells in culture. HD-induced aggregates have therefore been studied as a potential model for the clinical inclusions. Exposure of astrocyte cultures to 2 mM HD for 2 or 4 weeks led to the formation of aggregates of the IFs (glial fibrillary acidic protein and vimentin). The aggregates contained ubiquitin-protein conjugates, which, on electron microscopy appeared to be localized in a peripheral shell. In addition, ubiquitin mRNA levels were found to be elevated approximately threefold by HD treatment. HD-induced inclusions and Rosenthal fibres were found to share a number of features. HD administration, therefore, appears to be a suitable model for the production of pathological inclusions.

Immunohistological studies for gastrointestinal and other hormones in acth-secreting adenomas

Eighty-nine ACTH-secreting pituitary adenomas from patients with Cushing's disease or Nelson's syndrome were investigated by immunohistochemical methods for their content of gastrin, cholecystokinin (CCK), vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), bombesin, substance P, and ubiquitin as a marker for intercellular fibrils and hyalin and D11 as a marker for adrenocortical tissue. In contrast to in vitro studies reported in the relevant literature, we did not find significantly positive percentages (more than 10% of adenoma cells) for gastrin and CCK. VIP and bombesin were demonstrated in one adenoma. Among the adenomas examined, ubiquitin was found in 15% and D11 in 75%. ACTH was present in 99%, pro-γ-MSH in 21 %, β-endorphin in 13%, enkephalin in 4%, and α-subunit in 11.5%. The significance of the findings is discussed.

What do we really know about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis?

The cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is unknown. In this review clinical and scientific data that are pertinent to understanding this disease are reviewed. There are currently several major controversies concerning the possible role of immunological factors, genetic factors, environmental toxins, and viral infection in pathogenesis. These concepts must be considered in relation to what is known about the disease in all its aspects, including epidemiological data, information on the classical and molecular pathology of the disease, and on associated involvement of other systems, e.g., the spinocerebellar pathways and frontal dementia. Only when all this information is assimilated can full understanding of the disease and, hopefully, a logical approach to treatment and prevention, be achieved.

Immunoreactivity to ubiquitin-protein conjugates is present early in the disease process in the brains of scrapie-infected mice

Brains from mice infected with either the 87V or the ME7 strains of mouse-passaged sheep scrapie were taken at stages during the disease process and immunostained to show the localization of ubiquitin-protein conjugates. In both models, conjugates were seen as fine, dot-like structures; as coarser, granular lesions within or adjacent to neurones; and in areas surrounding plaques. The dot-like structures were visible at 28 days post-ME7 infection and at 55 days in 87V-infected mice. In both models, the extent of immunoreactive changes increased as the disease progressed and terminal infection was as described earlier by us (Lowe et al., J. Pathol 1990; 162: 61-66). The patterns of development of these features were distinctive in two ways: progression from region to region was observable and the density of the pathological lesions grew exponentially as the clinical symptoms appeared. The earliest pathological dot-like structures corresponded temporally with the earliest detection of PrPSC by Western blotting, and immunogold electron microscopic investigation of the dot-like lesions indicated that they were the multi-vesicular, lysosome-related, dense bodies that we have described previously in terminal disease (Laszlo et al., J Pathol 1992; 166: 333-341). Until now, ubiquitin-protein conjugates were seen mainly in inclusion bodies associated with the terminal stages of a range of human degenerative diseases. This study establishes that ubiquitin-protein conjugates accumulate in lysosome-related bodies very early and appear to be intimately related to the pathological processes in the animal disorders that we have studied.

Ubiquitin-positive intraneuronal inclusions in the extramotor cortices of presenile dementia patients with motor neuron disease

Ubiquitin-positive intraneuronal inclusions were found in the extramotor cortices of ten presenile dementia patients with motor neuron disease. There were inclusions in the hippocampal granular cells and in the small neurons of the superficial layers of the temporal and frontal cortices. Bunina bodies were present in the anterior horn cells in all cases. These results suggest that ubiquitin-related cytoskeletal abnormalities are common in cerebral non-motor small neurons in these patients.

Malignant paraganglioma of the uterus

We report a malignant uterine paraganglioma in a 40-year-old female, who died 7 months after the initial diagnosis. On light microscopy the tumour showed a typical zellballen pattern as well as a pronounced cellular pleomorphism. In many tumour cells hyaline globules were demonstrated within the cytoplasm. Immunohistochemically the lesion was characterized by the presence of neuron-specific enolase, protein gene product 9.5 and synaptophysin, and electron microscopically by the occurrence of neurosecretory granules.

Alexander's disease in infancy and childhood: a report of two cases

Two cases of Alexander's disease are described. One case of infantile onset died at the age of 6 months and the second case was of the juvenile type with onset at 2 years and death at 10 years. A clinical diagnosis of this disease is difficult since signs can vary according to the age of the patient. The severity of the pathological changes can also depend upon the age of onset of this disease, but they are restricted to the central nervous system. The Rosenthal fibre is the characteristic feature of Alexander's disease and we have examined for the first time its ultrastructure and immunocytochemical characteristics at the electron microscopical level and demonstrated coexpression of anti-glial fibrillary acidic protein and anti-ubiquitin antisera.

Ballooned neurons in several neurodegenerative diseases and stroke contain alpha B crystallin

alpha B crystallin is a protein which has homology with the small cell stress proteins. A characterized antibody to residues 1-10 of alpha B crystallin was used to immunostain tissues containing ballooned (chromatolytic, achromasic) neurons. The tissues included two cases of classical Pick's disease, one case of dementia with swollen achromasic neurons in the cortex, two cases of Alzheimer's disease with large numbers of ballooned neurons, two cases of motor neuron disease, four cases of cortico-basal degeneration, and four cases with areas of brain showing swollen neurons adjacent to recent cerebral infarcts. The anti-alpha B crystallin showed strong diffuse cytoplasmic immunoreactivity of swollen cortical neurons in all the diseases. Astrocytes and oligodendroglial cells were also stained in normal tissues as previously described. Weak diffuse immunoreactivity with an antibody to ubiquitin-conjugates was also seen in the swollen neurons from cases of neurodegenerative disease but not following infarction. Ballooned neurons have been shown to contain phosphorylated neurofilament epitopes not normally present in the perikaryonal region. The presence of alpha B crystallin in ballooned neurons, together with previous data which also indicate its close association with intermediate filaments, suggest that alpha B crystallin may be involved in aggregation and remodelling of neurofilaments in disease. The presence of alpha B crystallin in neurons at the edge of areas of cerebral infarction is likely to reflect cells which are regenerating following damage; its detection may therefore be a marker for such cells. On a practical level, the antibody greatly facilitates the localization of such abnormal neurons in diagnostic histology.

Protein processing in lysosomes: the new therapeutic target in neurodegenerative disease

A little recognised feature of neurons is their large complement of lysosomes. Studies of the accumulation of the abnormal isoform of the prion protein (PrPSC) in the prion encephalopathies and the formation of beta/A4 protein from its precursor in Alzheimer's disease suggest that generation of these key proteins takes place in lysosome-related organelles. The release of hydrolytic enzymes from lysosomes may be a primary cause of neuronal damage. Although molecular genetic approaches have identified protein mutations central to the main neurodegenerative disease, cell biological observations are now beginning to unravel the intracellular pathways involved in the molecular pathogenesis of neurodegeneration: as a result, it is now appropriate to consider therapeutic manipulation of the lysosomal system as an approach to treatment.

Immunohistological study of grumose degeneration of the dentate nucleus in progressive supranuclear palsy

The grumose degeneration observed in the dentate nuclei of 7 cases of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) was studied with a panel of antibodies which included 2 neurofilaments, Tau and ubiquitin. Dentate nucleus neurons were negative with all antibodies except ubiquitin which showed a slightly positive homogeneous pattern of staining. The amorphous material surrounding swollen or normal neurons was strongly positive for neurofilament and subunits and numerous torpedoes were observed in the granular layer of the cerebellar cortex. Our results confirm that grumose degeneration consists in degeneration of terminal axons of Purkinje cells in the dentate nucleus. The positivity of dentate nucleus neurons for ubiquitin may support the concept of synaptic dysfunction between Purkinje cells and dentate nucleus neurons.

Detergent-Insoluble Cortical Lewy Body Fibrils Share Epitopes with Neurofilament and ?

Lewy bodies are cytoskeletal inclusions associated with neuronal injury and death in idiopathic Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. The chemical composition of the 8-10-nm fibrils of the Lewy body is unknown, although they are related to both normal cytoskeletal elements and paired helical filaments of Alzheimer neurofibrillary tangles. From the Lewy body-rich cerebral cortex of patients with diffuse Lewy body disease we have isolated intact Lewy bodies using a high salt buffer/nonionic detergent gradient centrifugation procedure and extracted the constitutive fibrils with urea and sodium dodecyl sulfate. Urea/detergent-resistant Lewy body fibrils were solubilized with formic acid and found to contain a single protein band of 68 kDa, which was not found in identically prepared normal brain homogenates. The Lewy body derived-polypeptide was recognized on immunoblots by a polyclonal antibody that reacted with both the 68-kDa neurofilament subunit and the microtubule-associated protein tau. The 68-kDa Lewy body protein was not labeled by the monoclonal antibody tau-1 despite prior in vitro enzymatic dephosphorylation. We conclude that the detergent-insoluble component of the cortical Lewy body fibril shares epitopes with neurofilament and tau and may be a posttranslationally modified derivative of either neurofilament or tau with substantially altered biochemical and immunologic properties.

Relationships between Lewy bodies and pale bodies in Parkinson's disease

The prevalence of pale bodies and Lewy bodies was studied in the substantia nigra of 12 patients with typical Parkinson's disease (PD), in 5 patients with diffuse Lewy body disease (DLBD), and in a group of neurologically normal controls. Anti-ubiquitin antibodies labelled pale bodies and Lewy bodies in typical PD and DLBD, and there was a strong positive correlation between numbers of ubiquitin-immunoreactive pale bodies and Lewy bodies. BF10, a monoclonal antibody against a phosphate-dependent epitope of neurofilament 155-kDa polypeptide subunit, immunolabelled 57% of Lewy bodies and 15% of pale bodies in typical PD. Some pale bodies and Lewy bodies were seen in the substantia nigra of 2 of 5 neurologically normal, aged controls, probably representing "incidental PD". We conclude that there is a close relationship between pale bodies and typical Lewy bodies in the substantia nigra in clinical varieties of PD, and that these inclusions share antigenic determinants. If pale bodies and Lewy bodies reflect separate aspects of the cellular pathology in PD, their formation probably occurs in parallel. Alternatively, these observations may suggest that pale bodies represent a stage in the formation of Lewy bodies.

Localization of the human UBC polyubiquitin gene to chromosome band 12q24.3

The localization of specific human ubiquitin genes has not been straightforward because of the conservation of the ubiquitin coding sequence and the number of processed pseudogenes. An congruent to 1.4-kb sequence from the 5'-flanking region of the UBC gene has been shown to be unique to that locus and free from dispersed repeat elements. The cloned 5'-flanking fragment has been used to probe Southern blots of DNA obtained from somatic cell hybrid cell lines. These data indicate that the UBC gene is located on chromosome 12. In situ hybridization with the 5'-flanking probe has refined the assignment to the broad chromosomal subband 12q24.3. These data show that the active ubiquitin genes are not clustered and are located on separate chromosomes. In addition, these studies demonstrate the utility of intron or flanking sequence probes in the specific chromosomal assignment of members of highly conserved gene families.

Cytokeratin of apparent high molecular weight in livers from griseofulvin-fed mice

Livers from mice fed griseofulvin (GF) for 12 months contain abnormal cytokeratin (CK) intermediate filaments (IFs) that aggregate to form Mallory bodies (MBs). Sections from control and GF-treated livers were extracted with Triton X-100. IF-enriched fractions were analyzed by gel electrophoresis and IF proteins were identified by Western blotting using anti-CK 55 (TROMA 1) and CK 49 (TROMA 2), and the anti-'universal' IF known as aIF. Western blotting on control and GF-treated livers with TROMA 1 and TROMA 2 obtained with gels loaded with 2 micrograms of protein revealed the presence of CK 55 and CK 49. In contrast, when a larger amount of protein was loaded on the gel (10 or 12 micrograms) the results were different. In the control we detected bands corresponding to CK 55 and CK 49 plus a faint band at approx. 97 kDa. In the GF-treated animals, we detected a more pronounced reaction with the 97 kDa band and in addition we now detected several higher molecular weight bands which reacted with anti-CK antibodies. These results demonstrated that the induced changes in CKs in the GF liver are associated with the increase of apparent high molecular weight CK. These apparent high molecular weight CKs could be obtained by a pathological cross-linking of the preexisting liver CK monomers in different combinations such as CK 55-55, CK 49-49 and/or with other proteins.

Ubiquitin expression in globose tangles in the locus coeruleus in brains of patients with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases

The locus coeruleus belongs to brain areas exhibiting remarkable neuronal loss already during physiological aging and very early neurofibrillary tangles. We performed a semiquantitative, immunocytochemical study focused on the expression of ubiquitin in neurofibrillary tangles in the locus coeruleus as compared with the central superior nucleus. The locus coeruleus exhibited later ubiquitin expression in the neurofibrillary tangles, a lower percentage of ubiquitinated tangles and more frequently granular cytoplasmic staining with Tau-1 than the central superior nucleus. These results suggesting different, probably delayed, processing of Tau protein in the locus coeruleus might contribute additionally to cell injury in this area.

Immunocytochemical and ultrastructural studies of neuronal and oligodendroglial cytoplasmic inclusions in multiple system atrophy. 2. Oligodendroglial cytoplasmic inclusions

Oligodendroglial cytoplasmic inclusions (OCI) in multiple system atrophy were investigated immunocytochemically and ultrastructurally. Among the 17 cases examined, 16 had OCIs. Almost all OCIs were positive for both alpha B-crystallin and ubiquitin. The antibodies against tubulin, paired helical filament and tau stained OCIs to various extents. Ultrastructurally OCIs consisted of meshworks of granule-associated filaments about 25 nm in diameter that sometimes formed flame-shaped tangle-like structures. Immunoelectron microscopy showed that an epitope of alpha B-crystallin was located on the granule-associated filaments composing OCIs. Our studies further support a cooperative role of alpha B-crystallin, ubiquitin and cytoskeletal protein in the formation of some types of intracytoplasmic inclusions.

Immunocytochemical and ultrastructural studies of eosinophilic granular bodies in astrocytic tumors

Eosinophilic granular bodies (EGBs) are studied immunocytochemically and ultrastructurally in a case of low-grade and a case of high-grade astrocytoma. EGBs are recognized as brightly eosinophilic round bodies of variable size in hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections. Immunocytochemically some EGBs are positive for antibodies raised against alpha B-crystallin, ubiquitin and glial fibrillary acidic protein with the staining patterns for each being different from one another. Ultrastructurally EGBs consist of membrane-bound round body of various diameter ranging from 50 nm to 20 microns. Small EGBs contain electron-dense homogeneous material with occasional myelin figures, while electron-dense homogeneous material or loose granular profiles. Our studies demonstrate (1) ultrastructural variety of EGB; (2) and alpha B-crystallin epitope in EGB; and (3) the presence of EGB in high-grade as well as low-grade astrocytoma.

alpha B crystallin expression in non-lenticular tissues and selective presence in ubiquitinated inclusion bodies in human disease

alpha B crystallin is a lens protein which has homology with the small heat-shock proteins and is also expressed in non-lenticular tissues. Polyclonal antibodies have been raised to a synthetic peptide corresponding to residues 1-10 of alpha B crystallin. The antiserum detects a 20 kDa polypeptide on nitrocellulose replicas after polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate of extracts of heart muscle known to be rich in alpha B crystallin. Staining of normal human tissues reveals immunoreactivity of lens capsular epithelium, skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, smooth muscle, renal tubular epithelium, Schwann cells, and glial cells, as has been described by other workers. In addition, positive staining of normal thyroid epithelium, colonic epithelium, and stratified squamous epithelium was seen. Tissues known to contain ubiquitinated inclusion bodies were immunostained with the anti-alpha B-crystallin antiserum. Staining of cortical Lewy bodies, astrocytic Rosenthal fibres, and hepatic Mallory bodies was seen, but only a proportion of inclusions were positive. Neurones containing the ubiquitinated inclusions of Alzheimer's disease were only very rarely immunostained and the ubiquitinated inclusions of motor neurone disease were not detected by the antiserum. Reactive astrocytes in cerebral tissues were strongly immunostained. The results suggest that alpha B crystallin is involved in the formation of ubiquitinated inclusion bodies that have associated intermediate filaments and support previous observations on the localization of a brain-specific ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase which similarly divides ubiquitinated filamentous inclusions in the central nervous system into two main groups.

A mild juvenile variant of type IV glycogenosis

The mild juvenile form of type IV glycogenosis, confirmed by a profound deficiency of the brancher enzyme in tissue specimens is reported from three Turkish male siblings who, foremost, suffered from chronic progressive myopathy. Muscle fibers contained polyglucosan inclusions of typical fine structure i.e. a mixture of granular and filamentous glycogen. They reacted strongly for myophosphorylase, but were resistant to diastase. These inclusions were ubiquitinated and reacted with antibody KM-279 which previously has been shown to bind to Lafora bodies, corpora amylacea and polyglucosan material in hepatic and cardiac cells of type IV glycogenosis as well as polyglucosan body myopathy without brancher enzyme deficiency. Our findings confirm that although rate, a mild form of type IV glycogenosis is marked by polyglucosan inclusion not only in myofibers, but also in smooth muscle and sweat gland epithelial cells. This further implies that when polyglucosan inclusions are observed within myofibers it is mandatory to examine the muscle tissue for brancher enzyme activity since the brancher enzyme activities in circulating erythrocytes and leucocytes were normal in all three affected siblings and their parents. Therefore, it can be concluded that the patients reported on here represent a variant form of type IV glycogenosis, in which the defect is limited to muscle tissue. This further indicates that there are several different types of type IV glycogenosis with variable clinical manifestations.

Argyrophilic ubiquitinated cytoplasmic inclusions of Leu-7-positive glial cells in olivopontocerebellar atrophy (multiple system atrophy)

We described cytoplasmic inclusions in glial cells in 18 patients with olivopontocerebellar atrophy (OPCA) (multiple system atrophy, MSA). These glial inclusions showed intense argyrophilia with modified Bielschowsky's and Bodian's silver impregnation techniques, and were observed in the pons, cerebellar white matter, midbrain, medulla oblongata and basal ganglia, as well as cerebral white matter and spinal cord. None of the 54 control cases had glial argyrophilic inclusions. Immunohistochemically, these inclusions were intensely labeled by anti-ubiquitin antibody. Some of them reacted with an antibody to Rosenthal fiber (RF) protein. The cytoplasm of ubiquitinated inclusion-bearing glial cells was immunostained by anti-Leu-7 antibody, but not by anti-GFAP antibody. Ultrastructurally, the glial inclusions were composed primarily of approximately 24- to 40-nm fibrils, which were coated with osmiophilic granular material along their length in longitudinal section. These fibrils appeared as annuli in cross section. Often, a central granule approximately 5 nm in diameter was seen in the lucent lumen of a cross-sectioned fibril. The granule-coated fibrils were not seen in the glial filament-containing astrocytes. Electron microscopic examination of silver-impregnated specimens revealed that the granule-coated fibrils had strong affinity for silver. Immunoelectron microscopy using the indirect immunoperoxidase techniques with antibodies to ubiquitin and RF protein revealed that the electron-dense reaction products respective to both were located on constituents of glial inclusions. Our observation that Leu-7-positive glial cells, mainly oligodendroglial cells, had argyrophilic ubiquitinated inclusions may be of significance for the evaluation of the pathology of OPCA(MSA).

Immunolocalization of ubiquitin in muscle biopsies of patients with inclusion body myositis and oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy

In 10/10 inclusion body myositis (IBM) patients and 2/2 oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD) patients, vacuolated muscle fibers contained darkly stained ubiquitin (Ub)-immunoreactive cytoplasmic inclusions. By electronmicroscopy, Ub-immunoreactive material was strictly localized to the 15-21 nm pathologic cytoplasmic tubulofilaments (CTFs). None of 18 control muscle biopsies contained the Ub-immunoreactive inclusions that are typical for IBM and OPMD. Thus, (a) finding that CTFs are ubiquitinated places their protein in the Ub-mediated turnover pathway and provides their first molecular marker; (b) easy accessibility, as compared to the central nervous system, of muscle tissue containing ubiquitinated inclusions should be advantageous for biochemical and molecular studies and may provide information important to both systems.

Skein-like inclusions in the anterior horn cells in motor neuron disease

Skein-like inclusions (SLIs) in the anterior horn cells of patients with motor neuron diseases, including familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with posterior column degeneration, sporadic lower motor neuron disease and classical amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, were investigated morphologically with hematoxylin and eosin preparations, immunostaining for ubiquitin and immunoelectron microscopy. The SLIs were thready linear or tubular structures which immunostained with antiubiquitin antibodies. They were detected on hematoxylin and eosin preparations as eosinophilic thread-like structures often surrounded by pale areas. SLIs were occasionally present as networks of threads or tubules. Sometimes, they were aggregated and formed larger pale inclusions. Ultrastructurally, the SLIs were bundles of filaments which appeared thicker than neurofilaments. The SLIs tended to have central hollow spaces which were devoid of filaments. When the SLIs were clustered, fuzzy thick filaments were randomly and loosely arranged among the individual SLIs. The SLIs were histologically and ultrastructurally distinct from other inclusions such as Bunina bodies and hyaline inclusions. This unique morphology of SLIs may provide a novel perspective on the degenerative processes of the anterior horn cells in MND.

New ubiquitin-positive intraneuronal inclusions in the extra-motor cortices in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

We examined the brains of 27 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients and 50 controls by light, electron and immunoelectron microscopy. Ubiquitin-positive intraneuronal inclusions were seen in the hippocampal granular cell layer and entorhinal cortex of 7 out of the ALS patients. Similar inclusions could not be seen in the same areas in the controls. They were not seen on light microscope staining, nor did they show anilinophilia, argentophilia or congophilia. They were not reacted with other antibodies including neurofilament, tau and paired helical filament (PHF). Immunoelectron microscopy by the preembedding method using anti-ubiquitin antibody showed those inclusions consist of loosely arranged lineal filaments and granular materials. These results suggest that ubiquitin-related cytoskeletal abnormalities are present in cerebral non-motor small neurons in some sporadic ALS patients.

Ubiquitin deposits are present in spinal motor neurons in all stages of the disease in the motor neuron degeneration (Mnd) mutant of the mouse

Monoclonal antibodies to ubiquitin were used in an immunocytochemical analysis of spinal cord from the Mnd (motor neuron degeneration) mouse, an animal model for motor neuron disease. Tissue from mice with mild, moderate and severe disease, from presymptomatic mice, and age-matched controls were analyzed. Ubiquitin deposits were observed in spinal neurons from presymptomatic animals and all stages of the disease. No immunoreactive deposits were observed in control mice at the concentration of the antibodies used. The presence of ubiquitin immunopositivity in presymptomatic spinal motor neurons suggests that ubiquitination might play a primary role in the pathogenesis of motor neuron disease in the Mnd mouse, and perhaps of motor neuron disease in general.

Multicatalytic proteinase is present in Lewy bodies and neurofibrillary tangles in diffuse Lewy body disease brains

A non-lysosomal multicatalytic proteinase (MCP) is immunohistochemically visualized in Lewy bodies and loosely arranged globose tangles but not in the majority of compact neurofibrillary tangles in brains with cortical diffuse Lewy body disease. Virtually all Lewy bodies are immunoreactive to MCP, exhibiting various staining patterns where they are moderately diffuse, intense in the central core or intense in the peripheral rim. MCP may be involved in the formation of these inclusions.

Ubiquitin-protein conjugates and alpha B crystallin are selectively present in cells undergoing major cytomorphological reorganisation in early chicken embryos

Ubiquitin-protein conjugates and alpha B crystallin are detected immunohistochemically in cells undergoing extensive morphological reorganisation in early chicken embryos. Cytoplasmic ubiquitinated proteins and alpha B crystallin are coordinately found in cells of the lens, notochord and myotome. The antigens appear in the myotome cells precisely at the point at which the cells begin to migrate from the dorsomedial lip of the dermamyotome. The findings indicate that ubiquitin and alpha B crystallin may have a coordinate role in the extensive architectural remodeling which occurs in these developing tissues in the early chick embryo. Some form of functional association between protein ubiquitination and alpha B crystallin in cells may explain why alpha B crystallin is found with ubiquitin-protein deposits in some neurodegenerative diseases.

The latent membrane protein-1 in Epstein-Barr virus-transformed lymphoblastoid cells is found with ubiquitin-protein conjugates and heat-shock protein 70 in lysosomes oriented around the microtubule organizing centre

Immunofluorescence studies on Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-transformed lymphoblastoid cells have previously shown that the latent membrane transforming protein (LMP-1) is found in patch-like inclusions which also immunostain for vimentin. We now show that EBV transformation causes a major reorganization of intermediate filaments, microtubules, mitochondria, and lysosomal elements, which generally become oriented around the microtubule organizing centre. Immunogold electron microscopy shows that LMP-1 is primarily concentrated in secondary lysosomes together with ubiquitin-protein conjugates and heat-shock protein 70. Intermediate filament inclusion formation with the above characteristics may be a general response triggered by other membrane glycoproteins; as seen, for example, in major human neurodegenerative diseases such as diffuse Lewy body disease.

Ubiquitin in health and disease

Studies in recent years have shown that ubiquitin has increasingly important functions in eukaryotic cells; roles which were previously not suspected in healthy and diseased cells. The interplay between molecular pathological and molecular cell biological findings has indicated that ubiquitin may be pivotal in the cell stress response in chronic degenerative and viral diseases. Furthermore, the studies have led to the notion that ubiquitination may not only serve as a signal for nonlysosomal protein degradation but may be a unifying covalent protein modification for the major intracellular protein catabolic systems; these can act to identify proteins for cytosolic proteinases or direct intact and fragmented proteins into the lysosome system for breakdown to amino acids. This unifying role could explain why ubiquitin is restricted to eukaryotic cells, which possess extensive endomembrane systems in addition to a nuclear envelope. Protein ubiquitination is a feature of most filamentous inclusions and certain other intracellular conglomerates that are found in some degenerative and viral diseases. The detection of ubiquitin-protein conjugates is not of great diagnostic importance in these diseases. Protein ubiquitination is not only essential for the normal physiological turnover of proteins but appears to have been adapted as part of an intracellular surveillance system that can be activated by altered, damaged, or foreign proteins and organelles. The purpose of this system is to isolate and eliminate these noxious structures from the cell: as a cytoprotective mechanism this appears to have evolved in the cell akin perhaps to an 'intracellular immune system'. Other heat shock proteins such as hsp 70 may be involved in this process. It is apparent that ubiquitin has a role in embryonic development. Protein ubiquitination is presumably involved in the reorganisation of cytoplasm that accompanies cell differentiation. Ubiquitin is also necessary for the gross intracellular degradative processes which are consequent upon programmed cell death. Cell elimination is of key importance for a number of developmental morphogenetic changes. An understanding of the molecular details of these processes will no doubt provide further insights into the wide ranging roles of ubiquitin in the life process. As it says in the book 'Ubiquitin'; there is no doubt that ubiquitin is a 'lucky' protein. It is lucky in many ways: lucky for scientific progress, lucky for biomedical scientists and lucky for life! If you have not already done so, why don't you get lucky and look for a role for ubiquitin in your experimental system. As Avram Hershko has said "there is plenty to go round"!

A rapid one-step extraction procedure for the isolation of ubiquitin from human erythrocytes for antibody production

A procedure is described that employs 5% perchloric acid extraction to isolate ubiquitin from human erythrocytes. The procedure is rapid and economical as it requires no specialized equipment. The extracted protein appeared to be highly purified as judged by electrophoresis and was identified as ubiquitin by immunoblotting and total amino acid analysis. The extraction yields about 78% of the ubiquitin in the hemolysate, which is a higher yield than is obtained with other procedures. The purified ubiquitin was used to make a polyclonal antiserum. As ubiquitin is a small and highly conserved protein, it is necessary to couple it to a larger immunogen to elicit an immune response. This ubiquitin antiserum was produced using an immunogen system that produces an immune response to the ubiquitin, but not to the carrier protein.