CULTURED GABA-IMMUNOREACTIVE NEURONS ARE RESISTANT TO TOXICITY INDUCED BY BETA-AMYLOID

Neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease is characterized by a selective loss of particular cell populations. Several recent lines of evidence suggest that beta-amyloid protein directly contributes to the disease's progression and is likely responsible for the observed pattern of neuronal death. We have previously demonstrated that aggregated beta-amyloid peptides are neurotoxic to cultured neurons. We now report that a neuronal population exhibiting GABA-immunoreactivity is resistant to beta-amyloid-induced toxicity in vitro, a finding consistent with observations in the Alzheimer brain. Determination of the intrinsic neuronal characteristics responsible for resistance to beta-amyloid may prove beneficial in both understanding the mechanism(s) of beta-amyloid neurotoxicity and halting the disease's progressive neuronal degeneration.