Kristi Lynn Hultman1, Jessica L. Lack1, Thomas M. Wengenack2, Geoffry L. Curran2, Gregory M. Preboske3, Ramakrishnan Muthu2, Michael Garwood4, Clifford R. Jack Jr3, Joseph F. Poduslo2
1Molecular Neurobiology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester , MN, USA; 2Molecular Neurobiology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA; 3Radiology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA; 4Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, USA
Cerebral amyloid angiopathy(CAA) and Alzheimers disease(AD) are characterized by accumulation of amyloid-β peptides in the brain. The development of targeted nanoparticle(MION) contrast agents to distinguish these diseases using MR imaging would aid in their diagnosis and treatment. Here we report the development of pF(ab) 24.1 MIONs for use as an MRI probe to identify cerebrovascular amyloid in ex-vivo mouse brains with MRI. We were able to demonstrate that the pF(ab) 24.1-MION conjugate bound to cerebrovascular amyloid in isolated blood vessels from APP/PS1 mouse brain. In T1-weighted images of ex-vivo APP/PS1 mouse brain, dark contrast spots suggest pF(ab) 24.1-MIONs binding to cerebrovascular amyloid.