Hippocampal plasticity in Alzheimer's disease: changes in highly polysialylated NCAM immunoreactivity in the hippocampal formation

The highly polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM) is one of the most promising molecules that contributes to plasticity in the central nervous system. We evaluated PSA-NCAM immunoreactivity in the hippocampal formation of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. We found significant increases over control levels in the optical density ratios of PSA-NCAM immunoreactivity in the outer molecular layer/granule cell layer (ODoml/grl) and in the inner molecular layer/granule cell layer (ODiml/grl) in the dentate gyrus of AD patients. The optical density of the granule cell layer in the dentate gyrus did not differ significantly between AD patients and control subjects. However, the number of PSA-NCAM-immunopositive infragranule cells was higher in the AD group compared with control subjects. The major finding in the CA1, subiculum and entorhinal cortex of AD patients was the disorganization of PSA-NCAM-immunoreactive fibres. These results indicate that neuronal remodelling occurs, especially in the dentate gyrus of patients with AD.