title: Molecular imaging of amyloid beta peptides in mouse brain sections using mass spectrometry.
abstract: A method is presented for direct spatial analysis of amyloid beta peptides in biological tissue sections. The technique takes advantage of the very high sensitivity of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry and is implemented on a commercial instrument with modifications to only a few components and the software. With this setup, hundreds of molecular images can be generated simultaneously and within just a few minutes. The current features are an instrumental resolution of 50 microm and a sensitivity down to the attomol range. This new technology is applied to the study of amyloid beta peptide distribution in brain sections from mice, showing features reminiscent of Alzheimer's disease.
authors.affiliation: Novartis Pharma AG, RES/CT/AIS/MS, WSJ-503.1101, Lichtstrasse 35, 4002 Basel, Switzerland. markus.stoeckli@pharma.novartis.com
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stoeckli
authors.forename: Dieter
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Staab
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Staufenbiel
authors.forename: Karl-Heinz
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Wiederhold
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Signor
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D028227:Amyloid Neuropathies, Familial / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D052160:Benzothiazoles; D015153:Blotting, Western; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D005629:Frozen Sections; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization / Q000379:methods*; D013844:Thiazoles / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor; D052160:Benzothiazoles; D013844:Thiazoles; C009462:thioflavin T