Proteinase inhibitor alpha 1-antichymotrypsin has different expression in various forms of neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis

Defective proteolytic degradation is most widely maintained as the major pathogenetic factor in neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL). The goal of the present study was to examine the expression in NCL brain tissue of one of the serine proteinase inhibitors, alpha 1-antichymotrypsin. Our study was based on previous findings of alpha 1-antichymotrypsin association with CNS amyloidoses related to amyloid beta protein deposits and our previous findings suggesting abnormal processing of amyloid beta-protein precursor (ABPP) in NCL brains. Immunocytochemical study was performed on formalin-fixed brain tissues collected from 15 NCL cases representing four different forms of the disorder and from 16 control cases comprising age-matched controls, older nondemented individuals, and Alzheimer disease cases. Our present study has shown that the expression of alpha 1-antichymotrypsin is generally higher in NCL cases than in control cases; however, it manifests in distinct variations of intensity and proportions of immunostained cells. The strongest immunoreactivity was found in the infantile form of NCL, which is characterized by a rapid clinical course and widespread tissue damage. We found no evidence of direct involvement of alpha 1-antichymotrypsin in either the ceroid lipopigment accumulation or the abnormal processing of ABPP in NCL. However, our findings may reflect the heterogeneity of the pathomechanism underlying this group of disorders and suggest that, similarly to blood circulation, alpha 1-antichymotrypsin can also represent an acute-phase protein in brain tissue.