Fast in vivo imaging of amyloid plaques using μ-MRI Gd-staining combined with ultrasound-induced blood–brain barrier opening

• Amyloid plaques are microscopic lesions that characterize Alzheimer's disease.
• Administration of ultrasound and microbubbles opens the blood–brain barrier.
• This protocol allows IV-injected Gadolinium contrast agents to enter into the brain.
• Amyloid plaques are detected on MRI after Gadolinium contrast agents reach the brain.
• US–Gd-staining protocol detects amyloid plaques with a short imaging time (32 min).

Amyloid plaques are one of the major microscopic lesions that characterize Alzheimer's disease. Current approaches to detect amyloid plaques by using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents require invasive procedures to penetrate the blood–brain barrier (BBB) and to deliver the contrast agent into the vicinity of amyloid plaques. Here we have developed a new protocol (US–Gd-staining) that enables the detection of amyloid plaques in the brain of an APP/PS1 transgenic mouse model of amyloidosis after intra-venous injection of a non-targeted, clinically approved MRI contrast agent (Gd-DOTA, Dotarem®) by transiently opening the BBB with unfocused ultrasound (1 MHz) and clinically approved microbubbles (Sonovue®, Bracco). This US–Gd-staining protocol can detect amyloid plaques with a short imaging time (32 min) and high in-plane resolution (29 μm). The sensitivity and resolution obtained is at least equal to that provided by MRI protocols using intra-cerebro-ventricular injection of contrast agents, a reference method used to penetrate the BBB. To our knowledge this is the first study to demonstrate the ability of MR imaging to detect amyloid plaques by using a peripheral intra-venous injection of a clinically approved NMR contrast agent.

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