Plasma Amyloid-β in Relation to Antibodies Against Herpes Simplex Virus, Cytomegalovirus, and Chlamydophila pneumoniae

Karin Lopatko Lindman; Bodil Weidung; Jan Olsson; Maria Josefsson; Anders Johansson; Sture Eriksson; Göran Hallmans; Fredrik Elgh; Hugo Lövheim

doi:10.3233/ADR-210008

Plasma Amyloid-β in Relation to Antibodies Against Herpes Simplex Virus, Cytomegalovirus, and Chlamydophila pneumoniae

J Alzheimers Dis Rep. 2021 Apr 6;5(1):229-235. doi: 10.3233/ADR-210008.

Authors

Karin Lopatko Lindman¹, Bodil Weidung^{1

2}, Jan Olsson³, Maria Josefsson⁴, Anders Johansson^{5

6}, Sture Eriksson^{1

6}, Göran Hallmans⁶, Fredrik Elgh³, Hugo Lövheim^{1

7}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Geriatric Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
² Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Geriatric Medicine, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
³ Department of Clinical Microbiology, Virology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
⁴ Centre for Demographic and Ageing Research, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
⁵ Department of Odontology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
⁶ Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
⁷ Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.

Abstract

Background: Amyloid-β (Aβ), the key constituent of Alzheimer's disease (AD) plaques, has antimicrobial properties.

Objective: To investigate the association between plasma Aβ and antibodies against the AD-related pathogens herpes simplex virus (HSV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), and C. pneumoniae.

Methods: Plasma from 339 AD cases, obtained on average 9.4 years (±4.00) before diagnosis, and their matched controls were analyzed for Aβ₄₀ and Aβ₄₂ concentrations with Luminex xMAP technology and INNOBIA plasma Aβ-form assays. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were utilized for analyses of anti-HSV immunoglobulin (Ig) G, anti-HSV1 IgG, anti-HSV2 IgG, anti-CMV IgG, and anti-C. pneumoniae IgG. Follow-up samples were available for 150 of the cases.

Results: Presence and levels of anti-HSV1 IgG, anti-HSV2 IgG, anti-CMV IgG, and anti-C. pneumoniae IgG did not correlate with concentrations of Aβ₄₂ or Aβ₄₀ in cases or controls.

Conclusion: Levels of plasma Aβ were not associated with antibodies against different AD-related pathogens.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Chlamydophila pneumoniae; Herpes simplex; amyloid-β peptides; cytomegalovirus; dementia; nested case-control study.