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

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-? (A?). The conformational change of proteins leads to enriched contents of ? 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 A? 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.

SUBMITTER: Ji M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6239428 | biostudies-other | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other