Tau-positive neurons in corticobasal degeneration and Alzheimer’s disease – distinction by thiazin red and silver impregnations

Abstract

Thiazin red (TR), a fluorochrome that has an affinity to fibrillary structures such as neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) or senile plaques, was utilized to investigate assembly of tau protein into fibrils in tau-immunopositive neocortical neurons of corticobasal degeneration (CBD) and of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Double fluorescence with anti-paired helical filament monoclonal antibody (AT8) and TR was followed by either the Gallyas or Bodian silver impregnation method, which enabled a comparison of the staining features by three different methods on the same neuron. NFTs of AD were uniformly stained by TR and Gallyas method. Most of tau-immunopositive neurons of CBD were similarly stained by Gallyas method but barely or only weakly by TR or Bodian method, suggesting that tau in neocortical neurons of CBD is less liable to form fibrillary structures than in those of AD, easily distinguishable by TR staining. Clarifying the process of tau assembly using this fluorochrome will give a clue to understanding mechanisms of tau deposition, which may be different in various neurological disorders.