Increased proteins in post-mortem brain in a case of Pick's disease and in Huntington's disease

Soluble proteins from temporal cortex and caudate nucleus from a case of Pick's disease, 5 cases of Huntington's disease and 5 controls were analysed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Acidic proteins of molecular weight 39 000-42 000, which showed glial fibrillary acidic protein immunoreactivity, were increased in temporal cortex of the Pick's case. Proteins of these molecular weights were also increased in caudate nucleus of the Huntington's cases. Our results show that the astrocytic gliosis observed in temporal cortex in Pick's disease and in caudate nucleus in Huntington's disease is associated with qualitatively similar increased amounts of soluble glial fibrillary acidic protein.