title: Detection of vascular alterations by in vivo magnetic resonance angiography and histology in APP/PS1 mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The brain of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the presence of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Vascular alterations such as amyloid angiopathy are also commonly reported in patients with AD and participate in mechanisms involved in disease onset and progression. Transgenic mouse models of AD have been engineered to evaluate the pathophysiology and new treatments of the disease. Our study evaluated vascular alterations in APP(SweLon)/PS1(M146L) mouse model of AD.
  
  
  METHODS
  Histological analysis and in vivo magnetic resonance angiography protocols based on time of flight (TOF) and contrast-enhanced (CE) angiography were applied to evaluate cerebrovascular alterations. Results Histological analysis showed that cerebrovascular amyloid deposition starts by the same time as extracellular amyloid plaques. However, unlike plaques deposition, severity of cerebrovascular alterations is stabilized in older animals. Alteration of the middle cerebral artery was detected in old APP(SweLon)/PS1(M146L) mice with respect to adult ones by evaluating the severity of vessel voids and the reduction of vessel length on TOF- and CE-angiograms. Age-related alterations in control PS1 mice were only detected as a reduced vessel length on CE-angiograms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results show that macroscopic vascular abnormalities are part of the pathological alterations developed by APP(SweLon)/PS1(M146L) mouse models of AD.
authors.affiliation: Institut Curie, Centre de Recherche, Orsay, France. Nadine.El-Tayara@curie.fr
authors.forename: Nadine El Tannir
authors.initials: Nel T
authors.lastname: El Tayara
authors.forename: Benoît
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Delatour
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Volk
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dhenain
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D000818:Animals; D016657:Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D020768:Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology