Developmental immunohistochemistry of membrane proteins in the brain coded by a gene on human chromosome 21

A monoclonal antibody, OK-2, against membrane proteins coded by a gene on chromosome 21 was obtained using hamster/human hybrid cells as an antigen, and used for a developmental study on the brains of Down's syndrome (DS) cases. The membrane proteins recognized by OK-2 were expressed earlier in neurons and vessels of DS brains than in normal brains, the difference being more marked in the temporal lobe than in the frontal lobe. This over-expression of the membrane proteins in DS brains, especially in the temporal lobe, may be related to the pathogenesis of or predisposition to Alzheimer type dementia in elderly DS cases.