Negative correlation between irp-2 and transferrin receptor expression as a diagnostic of alzheimer's disease

Abstract

A method of diagnosing Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is disclosed which was identified by the fact that an increased level of iron regulating protein-2 (IRP-2) was identified in Alzheimer's patients. Further, diseases of increased cellular metabolism such as cancer showed high levels of both IRP-2 and transferrin receptor. This suggests that, in diseases of increased cellular metabolism, both aspects of iron accumulation are highly expressed, while in Alzheimer's disease only IRP-2 is highly expressed. From these results, a non-invasive test for Alzheimer's disease may be produced using patient samples containing peripheral blood cells and identifying the level of expression of IRP-2 and Transferrin receptor. Those patients which: 1. over-express IRP-2 as compared with normal controls, and 2. have comparable levels of Transferrin receptor expression to normal controls, can be identified as having or prone to AD and MCI. Further, it can be envisioned that this may be used for further diagnosis and staging of cancers of the blood.

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