On-line high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometric investigation of amyloid-beta peptide variants found in Alzheimer's disease.

Abeta peptides are the major components of amyloid deposits in Alzheimer's disease. The presence of N-terminally truncated Abeta variants in amyloid may be a critical factor in Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis. These Abeta variants are less soluble and more amyloidogenic than full-length Abeta, making their separation, purification and identification difficult. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) at elevated temperatures, coupled to electrospray ionization (ES) mass spectrometry (MS), enables rapid separation and identification of N-terminally truncated Abeta variants. This methodology provides a potential tool for exploring the importance of these Abeta variants in both the pathogenesis and diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.