Impaired Eukaryotic Elongation Factor 1A Expression in Alzheimer's Disease

Recent studies have indicated a link between the impaired capacity of de novo protein synthesis and neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Moreover, it has been established that eukaryotic elongation factor 1A (eEF1A) plays a critical role in maintaining long-term synaptic plasticity, a cellular model for learning and memory. The aim of the present study is to determine whether brain eEF1A protein levels are dysregulated in brain tissue from AD patients compared with controls.

Postmortem human brain samples collected from patients clinically diagnosed as AD, and from age-matched healthy controls, were utilized for this study. Both Western blot and immunohistochemistry approaches were utilized to investigate the potential alteration of eEF1A protein levels by using a specific antibody.

Our data demonstrate that eEF1A expression is reduced in AD patients in the hippocampus, but not in the cerebellum or midfrontal gyrus. Furthermore, immunohistochemical experiments reveal that neuronal eEF1A reduction in the AD hippocampus is localized to the CA1 and dentate gyrus, but not to the CA3.

Dysregulation of eEF1A and its associated signaling pathways might represent novel molecular mechanisms underlying AD pathogenesis. Further investigation is necessary to determine whether eEF1A is a viable therapeutic target for AD and other cognitive syndromes.