Journal of Alzheimers Disease & Parkinsonism
Open Access

Review Article

Lectin-Positive Spherical Deposits (SPD) Detected in the Molecular Layer of Hippocampal Dentate Gyrus of Dementia, Down's Syndrome, and Schizophrenia

Keiko Ikemoto^1,2,3*, Katsuji Nishi² and Akiyoshi Nishimura³

¹Department of Psychiatry, Iwaki Kyoritsu General Hospital, Iwaki, 973-8555, Japan

²Department of Legal Medicine, Shiga University of Medical Science, Otsu, 520-2192, Japan

³Department of Forensic Medicine, Health Bioscience Institute, University of Tokushima Graduate School, Tokushima, 770-8503, Japan

Corresponding Author:

Keiko Ikemoto
Department of Psychiatry, Iwaki Kyoritsu General Hospital
Iwaki, 973-8555, Japan
Tel: +90-4869-4135
E-mail: ikemoto@iwaki-kyoritsu.iwaki.fukushima.jp

Received date: July 26, 2014; Accepted date: November 10, 2014; Published date: November 17, 2014

Citation: Ikemoto K, Nishimura A, Nishi K (2014) Lectin-Positive Spherical Deposits (SPD) Detected in the Molecular Layer of Hippocampal Dentate Gyrus of Dementia, Down’s Syndrome, and Schizophrenia. J Alzheimers Dis Parkinsonism 4:169. doi:10.4172/2161-0460.1000169

Copyright: 2014 Ikemoto K, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Lectins are proteins which specifically bind (or crosslink) carbohydrates. Recent studies have shown the importance of glycosylation in pathogenesis of diseases. Lectin-positive spherical deposits (SPD), 3-10 micron in diameter, have been detected in the molecular layer of dentate gyrus of hippocampus in dementia, Down’s syndrome, and schizophrenia. In schizophrenia, SPD was observed without exception, regardless of having history of pharmacotherapy. Multi-labeling histochemical methods, revealed that single strand DNA was co-localized in hippocampal SPD of schizophrenia with lectin, including GSI-B4 for galactose, and UEA-I for fucose, suggesting that SPD formation in schizophrenia is related to apoptotic process. The molecular basis of SPD formation should detailly investigated in brains with neuropsychiatric illnesses, including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease

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