Spectrophotometry of amyloid degrading activity in serum or tissue

摘要

A method for spectrophotometric measurement of amyloid degrading activity in serum or tissue is disclosed. The method involves first binding a dye to a purified amyloid protein. Preferably, the dye and the amyloid bind stably, yet reversibly, so that the bond is disrupted and the dye is released when the bound amyloid is degraded by amyloid degrading factors (ADF) present in serum or tissue. Preferably, the dye is Congo red. The composition comprising a dye bound to a purified amyloid protein is mixed with serum or tissue homogenate to form a reaction mixture. Degradation of the amyloid by ADF disrupts the dye/amyloid bond causing dye to be released into a supernatant solution where its concentration and amount are spectrophotometrically determined. The amount of the amyloid degraded is calculated based upon the quantity of the dye found in the supernatant.