Before extraction of A
β from brain tissue, 10% (w/v) homogenates were prepared in tissue homogenization buffer (20 m
m Tris base, pH 7.4, 250 m
m sucrose, 1 m
m EDTA, 1 m
m EGTA) with 100 m
m phenylmethylsulphonyl fluoride and protease inhibitors [protease inhibitors cocktail (Complete, Roche Diagnostic) plus pepstatin A] added immediately before homogenization, as we have previously published (Asuni et al., 2006 (
link); Sadowski et al., 2006 (
link); Scholtzova et al., 2008 (
link)). For extraction of soluble A
β, brain homogenates were thoroughly mixed with an equal volume of 0.4% diethylamine (DEA)/100 m
m NaCl, then spun at 135,000 × g for 1 h at 4°C, and subsequently neutralized with 1/10 volume of 0.5
m Tris, pH 6.8. The samples were then aliquoted, flash-frozen on dry ice, and stored at -80°C until loaded onto ELISA plates. Similarly for extraction of the total A
β, homogenates (200
μl) were added to 440
μl of cold formic acid (FA) and sonicated for 1 min on ice. Subsequently, 400
μl of this solution was spun at 100,000 ×
g for 1 h at 4°C. Then, 210
μl of the resulting supernatant was diluted into 4 ml of FA neutralization solution (1
m Tris base, 0.5 M Na
2HPO
4, 0.05% NaN
3), aliquoted, flash-frozen on dry ice, and stored at -80°C until used for A
β measurements.
The total and soluble A
β levels were measured using a combination of mouse monoclonal antibody 6E10 (specific to an epitope present on amino acid residues 1-16 of A
β) and two different rabbit polyclonal antibodies specific for A
β40 (R162) and A
β42 (R165), in a double-antibody sandwich ELISA as described previously (Sadowski et al., 2006 (
link)). The optical density (OD) was measured at 450 nm. The relationship between OD and A
β peptide concentration was determined by a four-parameter logistic log function. Nonlinear curve fitting was performed with the KinetiCalc program (Biotek Instruments) to convert OD of plasma to estimated concentrations. The assay was performed by an investigator blinded to group assignment. The levels of A
β species are presented as
μg of A
β per g of wet brain, taking into account dilution factors introduced by multiple steps throughout the assay (brain homogenization and extraction procedures).
Scholtzova H., Kascsak R.J., Bates K.A., Boutajangout A., Kerr D.J., Meeker H.C., Mehta P.D., Spinner D.S, & Wisniewski T. (2009). Induction of Toll-Like Receptor 9 Signaling as a Method for Ameliorating Alzheimer's Disease-Related Pathology. The Journal of Neuroscience, 29(6), 1846-1854.