Ruthenium red colorimetric and birefringent staining of amyloid-β aggregates in vitro and in Tg2576 mice.

ABSTRACT: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease most notably characterized by the misfolding of amyloid-β (Aβ) into fibrils and its accumulation into plaques. In this Article, we utilize the affinity of Aβ fibrils to bind metal cations and subsequently imprint their chirality to bound molecules to develop novel imaging compounds for staining Aβ aggregates. Here, we investigate the cationic dye ruthenium red (ammoniated ruthenium oxychloride) that binds calcium-binding proteins, as a labeling agent for Aβ deposits. Ruthenium red stained amyloid plaques red under light microscopy, and exhibited birefringence under crossed polarizers when bound to Aβ plaques in brain tissue sections from the Tg2576 mouse model of AD. Staining of Aβ plaques was confirmed via staining of the

SUBMITTER: Cook NP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3605823 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature