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IC‐P1‐050: In vivo detected thalamic deposits in APP transgenic mice are calcifications, not amyloid plaques
Author(s) -
Rösner Beate,
Luo Feng,
Fox Gerard B.,
Ebert Ulrich
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2008.05.060
Subject(s) - genetically modified mouse , thalamus , pathology , amyloid (mycology) , in vivo , transgene , staining , biology , anatomy , neuroscience , medicine , gene , biochemistry , microbiology and biotechnology
Background: Extended deposits of A in the thalamus have been reported to be present in various strains of APP transgenic mice. We have found extended thalamic signals in 22 month old Tg2576 mice using T2*weighted magnetic resonance imaging (T2*-MRI), which we then attempted to correlate with deposits identified histopathologically in the same regions. Methods: To do this we sectioned the whole brain of each animal used in MRI studies and used several staining protocols on a subset of sections to identify the nature of the deposits. Results: Located in the ventral posteromedial thalamic nucleus, the deposits were negative for amyloid deposits when stained with Congo red and negative for amyloid peptide when stained with the antibody 6G1, indicating they were not large amyloid plaques. They were also negative for Fe when stained with Prussian blue, indicating they were not hemorrhages. However, all thalamic deposits stained positive for Ca with Von Kossa. Interestingly, similar MRI signals were also detected in non-transgenic old mice and in another APP transgenic mouse strain at an older age. Conclusions: We conclude that the thalamic T2*-MRI signals are not large amyloid plaques but rather calcified lesions, which are observed in subcortical regions of wildtype and transgenic mice as well as AD patients and age-matched controls.