Thiophene-Based Ligands for Specific Assignment of Distinct Aß Pathologies in Alzheimer's Disease.

ABSTRACT

Aggregated species of amyloid-ß (Aß) are one of the pathological hallmarks in Alzheimer's disease (AD), and ligands that selectively target different Aß deposits are of great interest. In this study, fluorescent thiophene-based ligands have been used to illustrate the features of different types of Aß deposits found in AD brain tissue. A dual-staining protocol based on two ligands, HS-276 and LL-1, with different photophysical and binding properties, was developed and applied on brain tissue sections from patients affected by sporadic AD or familial AD associated with the PSEN1 A431E mutation. When binding to Aß deposits, the ligands could easily be distinguished for their different fluorescence, and distinct staining patterns were revealed for these two types of AD. In sporadic AD, HS-276 consistently labeled all immunopositive Aß plaques, whereas LL-1 mainly stained cored and neuritic Aß deposits. In the PSEN1 A431E cases, each ligand was binding to specific types of Aß plaques. The ligand-labeled Aß deposits were localized in distinct cortical layers, and a laminar staining pattern could be seen. Biochemical characterization of the Aß aggregates in the individual layers also showed that the variation of ligand binding properties was associated with certain Aß peptide signatures. For the PSEN1 A431E cases, it was concluded that LL-1 was binding to cotton wool plaques, whereas HS-276 mainly stained diffuse Aß deposits. Overall, our findings showed that a combination of ligands was essential to identify distinct aggregated Aß species associated with different forms of AD.