Psychiatry Investig.  2010 Mar;7(1):68-71.

Altered Cell Viability and Proliferation Activity of Peripheral Lymphocytes in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease

• Yoon SC
• Kwon YA
• Kim H
• Kim S
• Ahn Jo S
• Kim DK

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
We evaluated cell viability and proliferation activity of peripheral lymphocytes as potential models of neuronal death in Alzheimer's disease (AD).
METHODS
We analyzed the cell viability and proliferation activity of phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-activated lymphocytes from 68 AD patients and 33 normal controls. The cellular measures were made at baseline (0 hr), 24 hrs, 48 hrs, 72 hrs, and 96 hrs after PHA stimulation.
RESULTS
Cell viability in the AD patients was significantly decreased at 72 hrs and 96 hrs, compared with the normal controls. The declining ramp of the proliferation activity from 48 hrs to 72 hrs after PHA stimulation was significantly related to cell viability at 72 hrs and at 96 hrs in the AD patients.
CONCLUSION
Lymphocytes from patients with AD have altered viability and proliferation characteristics in culture following PHA stimulation. These findings suggest that lymphocytes may be used as a peripheral tissue model of cell cycle dysregulation in AD.

Keyword

Alzheimer's disease; cell cycle; Biomarker; Cell death; Peripheral lymphocytes

MeSH Terms

Alzheimer Disease
Architectural Accessibility
Cell Cycle
Cell Death
Cell Survival
Humans
Lymphocytes
Neurons