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A Quantum Dot Probe Conjugated with Aβ Antibody for Molecular Imaging of Alzheimer’s Disease in a Mouse Model

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Abstract

The treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has been hampered by a lack of sensitive and specific non-invasive diagnostic methods. Quantum dots (QD) are nano-crystals with unique photo-physical properties that bypass some of the limitations of conventional dyes and imaging tools. This study is aimed to evaluate the fluorescence properties of a QD probe conjugated with an anti-Aβ antibody (QD–Aβ-Ab). Healthy mice and mice bearing mutated human APP695swe and APP717 V-F transgenes received intracerebroventricular injection of the probe for subsequent imaging. Immunohistochemistry revealed that Aβ1–42 was distributed in the hippocampus CA1 area in the APP transgenic mice. Fluorescence microscopy demonstrated that fluorescence was mainly observed in the hippocampus area, the cerebral cortex, sagittal septum and striatum of APP transgenic mice. In vivo imaging of mice receiving the QD–Aβ-Ab probe showed that healthy mice exhibited a narrow range of fluorescence and lower fluorescence intensity compared with APP transgenic mice. The mean fluorescence intensity of brain tissues of healthy C57BL mice was 12.3784 ± 3.9826, which was significantly lower than that of 10- and 16-month-old APP transgenic mice (45.03 ± 2.66 and 46.69 ± 3.22, respectively; P < 0.05). In this study we present the first direct evidence that QD–Aβ-Ab conjugate probes can track in vivo state of Aβ accumulation in mice and the findings suggest that such probes may be of potential use for early molecular diagnostic imaging of AD.

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Acknowledgments

The study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. NNSF-30770736 and NNSF-81000553). The authors are grateful to Drs. Hui Gong. Zhaoyang Luo and Jianwei Fu from the Wuhan National Laboratory of Optoelectronics for providing optical instrumentation. The authors also thank Professor Xiaobo Zhu and Dr. Jun Peng from the College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan University, for their constructive advice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, China

    Li Feng, Hong-Yu Long, Dan-Ni Sun, Chao Liu, Li-Li Long, Yi Li, Si Chen & Bo Xiao

  2. Department of Neurology, Nanshan People’s Hospital, Shenzhen, 518052, China

    Ren-Kai Liu

Authors
  1. Li Feng
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  2. Hong-Yu Long
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  3. Ren-Kai Liu
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  4. Dan-Ni Sun
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  5. Chao Liu
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  6. Li-Li Long
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  7. Yi Li
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  8. Si Chen
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  9. Bo Xiao
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bo Xiao.

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Li Feng and Hong-Yu Long contributed equally to this study.

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Feng, L., Long, HY., Liu, RK. et al. A Quantum Dot Probe Conjugated with Aβ Antibody for Molecular Imaging of Alzheimer’s Disease in a Mouse Model. Cell Mol Neurobiol 33, 759–765 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10571-013-9943-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10571-013-9943-6

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