Corpora amylacea in human hippocampal brain tissue are intracellular bodies that exhibit a homogeneous distribution of neoepitopes

Corpora amylacea are spherical bodies of unknown origin and function, which accumulate in the human brain during the aging process and neurodegenerative disorders. In recent work, we reported that they contain some neo-epitopes that are recognized by natural IgMs, revealing a possible link between t...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Augé Marí, Elisabet, Bechmann, Ingo, Llor Brunés, Núria, Vilaplana i Hortensi, Jordi, Krueger, Martin, Pelegrí i Gabaldà, Carme
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2019
País:España
Institución:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repositorio:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:2445/129472
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/129472
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Neurociències
Hipocamp (Cervell)
Envelliment cerebral
Immunologia
Malalties neurodegeneratives
Neurosciences
Hippocampus (Brain)
Aging brain
Immunology
Neurodegenerative Diseases
Descripción
Sumario:Corpora amylacea are spherical bodies of unknown origin and function, which accumulate in the human brain during the aging process and neurodegenerative disorders. In recent work, we reported that they contain some neo-epitopes that are recognized by natural IgMs, revealing a possible link between them and the natural immune system. Here, we performed an ultrastructural study complemented with confocal microscopy in order to shed light on the formation of corpora amylacea and to precisely localize the neo-epitopes. We show that immature corpora amylacea are intracellular astrocytic structures formed by profuse cellular debris and membranous blebs entrapped in a scattered mass of randomly oriented short linear fibers. In mature corpora amylacea, the structure becomes compacted and fibrillary material constitutes the principal component. We also determined that the neo-epitopes were uniformly localized throughout the whole structure. All these observations reinforce the idea that corpora amylacea of human brain are equivalent to another type of polyglucosan bodies named PAS granules, present in mouse brain and originated from degenerative processes. All those findings support the hypothesis that corpora amylacea are involved in the entrapment of damaged materials and non-degradable products and have a role in protective or cleaning mechanisms.