Dynamin protein in stroke and vascular dementia

Damage to sub-cortical white matter is a key substrate of vascular dementia (VaD) leading to deficits in executive function and cognitive processing speed. Dynamin1 is a 100 kDa protein, accounting for 0.4% of the total brain protein, and has a central role in many intracellular processes such as synaptic vesicle trafficking and recycling. In this study, we examined the status of Dynamin1 in the white matter from frontal cortex area. In order to measure the levels of Dynamin1, we isolated cortical white matter from a total of 34 post-mortem brains derived from controls (N = 11), mixed Alzheimer's disease (AD) and VaD (N = 8), VaD (N = 7), and stroke no dementia (SND, N = 8) subjects. A commercial ELISA kit was then used to determine the level of Dynamin1. In comparison to controls, Dynamin1 was elevated in patients SND (+400%) and reduced in patients with mixed VaD (−50%). Furthermore, levels of Dynamin1 were significantly associated with preserved cognition as indicated by the MMSE and CAMCOG and upregulation of vesicular glutamate transporter 1. This work indicates that Dynamin1 is associated with both preserved cognition and regenerative responses in older people with cerebrovascular disease and may represent a novel treatment target.