Acidic fibroblast growth factor-like immunoreactivity in brain of Alzheimer patients

Localization of acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF)-like immunoreactivity was examined in postmortem human brain tissue of Alzheimer and age-matched control cases using a rabbit polyclonal antibody specific for aFGF. In control cases, a small number of glial cells were stained very weakly in white but not in gray matter. In Alzheimer cases, some astrocytes were strongly stained for aFGF in both gray and white matter. These intensely staining cells were frequently observed surrounding senile plaques, but represented a small proportion of the total astrocytic population. The present study suggests that aFGF may be upregulated in areas of Alzheimer pathology.