Distribution and inter-regional relationship of amyloid-beta plaque deposition in a 5xFAD mouse model of Alzheimer's disease

Ka Chun Tsui, Jaydeep Roy, Sze Chun Chau, Kah Hui Wong, Lei Shi, Chi Him Poon, Yingyi Wang, Tatyana Strekalova, Luca Aquili, Raymond Chuen-Chung Chang, Man-Lung Fung*, You-Qiang Song*, Lee Wei Lim*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia. Although previous studies have selectively investigated the localization of amyloid-beta (Aβ) deposition in certain brain regions, a comprehensive characterization of the rostro-caudal distribution of Aβ plaques in the brain and their inter-regional correlation remain unexplored. Our results demonstrated remarkable working and spatial memory deficits in 9-month-old 5xFAD mice compared to wildtype mice. High Aβ plaque load was detected in the somatosensory cortex, piriform cortex, thalamus, and dorsal/ventral hippocampus; moderate levels of Aβ plaques were observed in the motor cortex, orbital cortex, visual cortex, and retrosplenial dysgranular cortex; and low levels of Aβ plaques were located in the amygdala, and the cerebellum; but no Aβ plaques were found in the hypothalamus, raphe nuclei, vestibular nucleus, and cuneate nucleus. Interestingly, the deposition of Aβ plaques was positively associated with brain inter-regions including the prefrontal cortex, somatosensory cortex, medial amygdala, thalamus, and the hippocampus. In conclusion, this study provides a comprehensive morphological profile of Aβ deposition in the brain and its inter-regional correlation. This suggests an association between Aβ plaque deposition and specific brain regions in AD pathogenesis.

Original languageEnglish
Article number964336
Number of pages19
JournalFrontiers in Aging Neuroscience
Volume14
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 28 Jul 2022

Keywords

  • 5xFAD
  • Alzheimer's disease
  • CONNECTIVITY
  • DORSOLATERAL PERIAQUEDUCTAL GRAY
  • ELECTRICAL-STIMULATION
  • HIPPOCAMPUS
  • HYPOTHALAMUS
  • MEMORY
  • NEURODEGENERATION
  • NUCLEUS
  • SPATIAL WORKING
  • TRANSGENIC MICE
  • amyloid-beta (AB)
  • dementia
  • morphology
  • neuroanatomy

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