Expression and phosphorylation of protein kinase C isoforms in Aβ1-42 activated T lymphocytes from Alzheimer's disease

The protein kinase C (PKC) family of enzymes is a regulator of transmembrane signal transduction. There is evidence demonstrating altered activity of some PKC isoforms (PKC-alpha, PKC-delta and PKC-zeta) in the neurons of brains of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) sufferers, but little is known about their involvement in the intracellular machinery of amyloid P protein-reactive T lymphocytes in AD. By applying a modified "split-well culture system" for A beta(1-42) reactivity, we carried out flow cytometry analysis and biochemical investigations on the possible involvement of PKC-alpha, PKC-delta and PKC-zeta in the signalling system activated in A beta-reactive T cells purified from peripheral blood mononucleate cells (PBMC) from healthy subjects and patients with AD. Flow cytometry analysis of A beta(1-42) activated T lymphocytes in the majority of AD patients highlighted a distinct cellular cluster highly expressing phospho-PKC-delta (PPKC-6), while most full-blown AD patients highly expressed two distinct P-PKC-delta and phospho-PKC-zeta (P-PKC-zeta) bright sub-populations. The same investigation performed in freshly purified peripheral T lymphocytes, did not highlight any subpopulation, suggesting that the detection of P-PKC-delta and PPKC-zeta bright subpopulations is specifically linked to A beta(1-42) activated T lymphocytes. The data presented here, therefore, suggest possible novel hallmarks to discriminate between healthy elderly subjects and beginning or full-blown Alzheimer's Disease patients.