The loss of zinc transporter 3 (ZnT3) has been implicated in age-related cognitive decline in mice and the protein has been associated with plaques. We investigated the levels of ZnT3 and PSD95, a marker of the post-synaptic terminal, in people with Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD n=31), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB n=44), Alzheimer's disease (AD n=16) and controls (n=24), using semi-quantitative western blotting and immunohistochemistry in three cortical regions. Standardized cognitive assessments during life and semi-quantitative scoring of Aβ, tau and α-synuclein at post-mortem were used to investigate the relationship between ZnT3 and PSD95, cognition and pathology.
The loss of zinc transporter 3 (ZnT3) has been implicated in age-related cognitive decline in mice and the protein has been associated with plaques. We investigated the levels of ZnT3 and PSD95, a marker of the post-synaptic terminal, in people with Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD n=31), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB n=44), Alzheimer's disease (AD n=16) and controls (n=24), using semi-quantitative western blotting and immunohistochemistry in three cortical regions. Standardized cognitive assessments during life and semi-quantitative scoring of Aβ, tau and α-synuclein at post-mortem were used to investigate the relationship between ZnT3 and PSD95, cognition and pathology.