Neuropathology
Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue blocks were evaluated. Tissue blocks examined in iCJD cases comprised bilateral samples of the frontal (frontobasal area of traumatic surgery and dorsolateral), anterior cingular, lower, middle and upper temporal, parietal, and occipital cortices with white matter, hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, basal ganglia, thalamus, mesencephalon, pons, medulla oblongata, and cerebellum. In case iCJD-1 we evaluated the implanted and immediately adjacent host dura mater. In case iCJD-2 the whole dura mater was available; thus we evaluated samples from the implanted areas and from those parts of the dura mater not involved in the traumatic injury (host dura, at least 5 cm distance from the surgical intervention from both sides).
In the VITA cohort we sampled the left temporal region of the dura mater including branches of the middle meningeal artery (2 × 2 cm) as well as three cross-sections in the area of the superior sagittal sinus and confluence of sinuses. In addition to Hematoxylin and Eosin (HE), Congo red, van Gieson elastica, and Bielschowsky stainings, the following monoclonal antibodies were used for immunohistochemistry: anti-PrP (1:1000, 12F10, Cayman Chemical, Ann Arbor, MI, USA), anti-Aβ (1:100, clone 6F/3D, Dako, Glostrup, Denmark), anti-Aβ (1:4000, clone 4G8, Signet, San Diego, CA, USA), anti-Aβ1-40 (1:800, clone 139-5, Signet, San Diego, CA USA), anti-Aβ1–42 (1:200, clone 1-11-3, Signet, San Diego, CA USA), anti-AβPP (1:8000, clone 22C11, Millipore, Temecula, CA, USA), anti-phospho-tau (1:200, clone AT8, Pierce Endogen, Waltham, MA, USA), smooth muscle actin (1:200, clone HHF35, Dako, Glostrup, Denmark), anti-ubiquitin (1:50,000, Millipore, Temecula, CA, USA), anti-HLA-DR (1:100, clone CR3/43, Dako), anti-CD-68 (1:5000, clone KP1, Dako), and collagen IV (1:100, clone CIV22, Dako, Glostrup, Denmark; to label basement membrane). The following tissue pretreatments were used for the Aβ antibodies prior to incubation with primary antibodies: for 6F/3D and 4G8 1 h 80 % formic acid (FA); for anti-Aβ1–40 and anti-Aβ1–42 10 min 70 % FA, for AT8 no pretreatment. Additional enhanced Proteinase K (PK) treatment (50 μg/ml) was used for 6F/3D and 4G8 for 5 min at 37°C to test for PK resistance of the detected dural Aβ deposits. The Dako EnVision™ FLEX + Mouse / Rabbit detection system (Dako, Glostrup, Denmark) was used for visualization of antibody reactions.
In the VITA cohort we correlated the presence of different Aβ deposits in the dura with neuropathological variables, including presence and phase of Aβ deposition, presence and type of CAA, stages of neurofibrillary degeneration, presence of Lewy body, TDP-43 and vascular pathology (see Ref. [
34]). Chi square test and Fisher’s exact test were used to evaluate association between variables of interest. IBM SPSS Statistics Version 20 was used for statistical analysis. A significance level of 0.05 was used.