The microglial translocator protein (TSPO) in Alzheimer's disease reflects a phagocytic phenotype.

ABSTRACT: Translocator protein (TSPO) is a mitochondrial protein expressed by microglia, ligands for which are used as a marker of neuroinflammation in PET studies of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We previously showed increasing TSPO load in the cerebral cortex with AD progression, consistent with TSPO PET scan findings. Here, we aim to characterise the microglial phenotype associated with TSPO expression to aid interpretation of the signal generated by TSPO ligands in patients. Human post-mortem sections of temporal lobe (TL) and cerebellum (Cb) from cases classified by Braak group (0-II, III-IV, V-VI; each n = 10) were fluorescently double labelled for TSPO and microglial markers: Iba1, HLA-DR, CD68, MSR-A and CD64. Quantification was performed on scanned images using QuPath software to assess the mic

SUBMITTER: Garland EF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11564344 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature