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Noninvasive in vivo MRI detection of neuritic plaques associated with iron in APP[V717I] transgenic mice, a model for Alzheimer's disease
Author(s) -
Vanhoutte G.,
Dewachter I.,
Borghgraef P.,
Van Leuven F.,
Van der Linden A.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
magnetic resonance in medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.696
H-Index - 225
eISSN - 1522-2594
pISSN - 0740-3194
DOI - 10.1002/mrm.20385
Subject(s) - thioflavin , genetically modified mouse , in vivo , senile plaques , pathology , thalamus , amyloid (mycology) , cortex (anatomy) , alzheimer's disease , transgene , medicine , neuroscience , biology , disease , biochemistry , gene , microbiology and biotechnology
Abstract Transgenic mice overexpressing the London mutant of human amyloid precursor protein (APP[V717I]) in neurons develop amyloid plaques in the brain, thus demonstrating the most prominent neuropathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. In vivo 3D T 2 *‐weighted MRI on these mice (24 months of age) revealed hypointense brain inclusions that affected the thalamus almost exclusively. Upon correlating these MRI observations with a panel of different histologic staining techniques, it appeared that only plaques that were positive for both thioflavin‐S and iron were visible on the MR images. Numerous thioflavin‐S‐positive plaques in the cortex that did not display iron staining remained invisible to MRI. The in vivo detection of amyloid plaques in this mouse model, using the intrinsic MRI contrast arising from the iron associated with the plaques, creates an unexpected opportunity for the noninvasive investigation of the longitudinal development of the plaques in the same animal. Thus, this work provides further research opportunities for analyzing younger APP[V717I] mouse models with the knowledge of the final outcome at 24 months of age. Magn Reson Med 53:607–613, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.