Attenuated antiaggregation effects of magnetite nanoparticles in cerebrospinal fluid of people with Alzheimer's disease

It is well known that oligomeric/aggregated amyloid beta peptides are a key player in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease and that different nanoparticles influence oligomerization/aggregation processes in experiments in vitro. Our previous results demonstrated antiaggregation effects of magnetite nanoparticles in the case of protein lysozyme, however, they have yet to be supported by biological samples containing peptides/proteins preaggregated in vivo. In the study, Thioflavin T based fluorescence was evaluated on cerebrospinal fluid samples from people with Alzheimer's disease/multiple sclerosis and corresponding age-related controls using magnetite nanoparticles incubated for 24 h. Our results are as follows: (i) fluorescence of samples without nanoparticles was significantly higher in both older groups (old controls and people with Alzheimer's disease) than in those of younger (young controls and people with multiple sclerosis), (ii) nanoparticles did not markedly influence a fluorescence intensity in young people but eliminated it in both old groups; nevertheless, the effects of nanoparticles were significantly lower in patients with Alzheimer's disease then in the age-matched controls, and finally (iii) significant positive correlation was observed between fluorescence of samples without nanoparticles and levels of phospho-tau. Our results support studies reporting enhanced aggregation of different peptides/proteins occurring during normal aging and demonstrate for the first time that peptides/proteins preaggregated in vivo during Alzheimer's disease are more resistant to the antiaggregation effects of magnetite nanoparticles than those of age-matched controls. A significant correlation with phospho-tau levels indicate that the in vitro test with magnetite nanoparticles and Thioflavin T dye on cerebrospinal fluid could be sensitive to changes mediated by early Alzheimer's disease stages.