Label-free imaging of amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's disease with stimulated Raman scattering microscopy

Sci Adv. 2018 Nov 16;4(11):eaat7715. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aat7715. eCollection 2018 Nov.

Abstract

One of the key pathological features of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the existence of extracellular deposition of amyloid plaques formed with misfolded amyloid-β (Aβ). The conformational change of proteins leads to enriched contents of β sheets, resulting in remarkable changes of vibrational spectra, especially the spectral shifts of the amide I mode. Here, we applied stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy to image amyloid plaques in the brain tissue of an AD mouse model. We have demonstrated the capability of SRS microscopy as a rapid, label-free imaging modality to differentiate misfolded from normal proteins based on the blue shift (~10 cm-1) of amide I SRS spectra. Furthermore, SRS imaging of Aβ plaques was verified by antibody staining of frozen thin sections and fluorescence imaging of fresh tissues. Our method may provide a new approach for studies of AD pathology, as well as other neurodegenerative diseases associated with protein misfolding.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Alzheimer Disease / diagnostic imaging
  • Alzheimer Disease / pathology*
  • Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor / genetics
  • Animals
  • Disease Models, Animal*
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • Mice, Transgenic
  • Nonlinear Optical Microscopy / methods*
  • Plaque, Amyloid / diagnostic imaging
  • Plaque, Amyloid / pathology*
  • Presenilins / genetics

Substances

  • Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor
  • Presenilins