beta-Amyloid (A beta) deposition in the brains of aged orangutans

While aged monkeys of several species show cerebral amyloid deposition in senile plaques and blood vessels similar to that seen in human aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD), studies of great apes have been limited. Using histological and immunohistochemical methods, we examined the brains of four orangutans aged 10, 28, 31, and 36 years. We encountered sparse beta-amyloid (A beta)-immunoreactive, silver-negative plaque-like structures in the brains of the three older apes. The 36-year-old orangutan also evidenced small A beta-positive deposits in subcortical white matter and sparse vascular amyloid deposition, primarily in meningeal vessels. Neurofibrillary tangles were not detected on silver stains or on tau or ubiquitin immunohistochemistry. Many of the A beta-positive plaque-like deposits in the orangutans were apolipoprotein E-immunoreactive, as we have previously reported in aged rhesus monkeys and an aged chimpanzee. Also, paralleling our earlier findings in these nonhuman primates, A beta 40 in plaques was more prominent in the orangutan than is typically seen in human aging, AD, and Down syndrome. These intriguing species differences may provide clues to the mechanisms of amyloid deposition and the development of neuropathologic changes in AD.