Tissue processing prior to protein analysis and amyloid-beta quantitation.

Amyloid-containing tissue, whether from human patients or an animal model of a disease, is typically characterized by various biochemical and immunohistochemical techniques, many of which are described in detail in this volume. In this chapter, we describe a straightforward technique for the homogenization of tissue prior to these analyses. The technique is particularly well-suited for performing a large number of different biochemical analyses on a single mouse brain hemisphere. Starting with this homogenate, multiple characterizations can be done, including Western blot analysis and isolation of membrane-associated proteins, both of which are described here. Additional analyses can readily be performed on the tissue homogenate, including the ELISA quantitation of Abeta in the brain of a transgenic mouse model of beta-amyloid deposition. The ELISA technique is described in detail in the following chapter.