Identification of early pericyte loss and vascular amyloidosis in Alzheimer's disease retina.

ABSTRACT: Pericyte loss and deficient vascular platelet-derived growth factor receptor-β (PDGFRβ) signaling are prominent features of the blood-brain barrier breakdown described in Alzheimer's disease (AD) that can predict cognitive decline yet have never been studied in the retina. Recent reports using noninvasive retinal amyloid imaging, optical coherence tomography angiography, and histological examinations support the existence of vascular-structural abnormalities and vascular amyloid β-protein (Aβ) deposits in retinas of AD patients. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms of such retinal vascular pathology were not previously explored. Here, by modifying a method of enzymatically clearing non-vascular retinal tissue and fluorescent immunolabeling of the isolated blood vessel network, we

SUBMITTER: Shi H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7181564 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature