Name: biochemical purification and proteomic characterization of amyloid fibril cores from the brain
Uploaded: 2022-04-28T13:50:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Biochemical Purification and Proteomic Characterization of Amyloid Fibril Cores from the Brain at JoVE.com

This work was supported by the NIH grant R01AG061865 to R.J.V. and J.N.S. The authors thank Vassar and Savas research group members at Northwestern University for their thoughtful discussions. We also sincerely thank Dr(s). Ansgar Seimer and Ralf Langen at the University of South California for their crucial input. We thank Dr. Farida Korabova for sample preparation and negative staining electron microscopy imaging at Northwestern University Center for Advanced Microscopy.

This protocol involves the use of human or vertebrate brain tissues. All the research was performed in compliance with the approved institutional guidelines of the Northwestern University. The current workflow is standardized using APP-knock in (AppNL-G-F/NL-G-F) mouse brain cortical and hippocampal brain region extracts11. This protocol has been optimized for brain extracts from mice at 6-9 months of age, and it can effectively purify amyloids from both male and female animals...

<ol>
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Developing a clear understanding of amyloid structure and composition is challenging for structural biologists and biochemists due to the biological complexities and experimental limitations in extracting purified fibrils from AD brain tissues16,17. Amyloid fibrils are polymorphic at the molecular level, showing a heterogeneous population of varying lengths and complexities18,19. To better understand thei...

Amyloid is an extremely stable supramolecular arrangement that is found in a diverse panel of proteins, some of which lead to pathological changes1. The accumulation of intra- or extracellular amyloid aggregates is observed in several neurodegenerative diseases2. Amyloid aggregates are heterogeneous and are enriched with a large number of proteins and lipids3. In recent years, interest in the amyloid proteome has generated substantial interest among basic and translational neuroscientists. Several methods have been developed to extract and purify amyloid aggregates from mouse and post-mortem human brain tissues. Laser-capture microdissection, immunoprecipitation, decellularization, and biochemical isolation of amyloid aggregates are widely used methods to extract and purify amyloid plaques, fibrils, and oligomers4,5,6,7. Many of these studies have focused on determining the protein composition of these tightly packed fibrillar deposits using semi-quantitative MS. However, the available results are inconsistent, and the surprisingly large number of co-purifying proteins previously reported are challenging to interpret.
The primary limitation of the existing literature describing the amyloid core proteome in AD and AD mouse model brains is that the purified material contains an unmanageable number of co-purifying proteins. The overall goal of this method is to overcome this limitation and develop a robust biochemical purification for isolating amyloid fibril cores. This strategy employs a previously described sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation-based biochemical method for the isolation of SDS insoluble enriched amyloid fractions from post-mortem AD human and mouse brain tissues8,9. This method builds on the existing literature but goes further with ultrasonication and SDS washes to remove most of the loosely bound amyloid-associated proteins, leading to the isolation of highly purified amyloid fibrils (Figure 1). The fibrils purified by this protocol overcome several existing challenges frequently encountered in structural studies of amyloid fibrils isolated from brain extracts. Visualization of these fibrils with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirms the integrity and purity of the purified material (Figure 2). In this study, the isolated fibrils are solubilized and digested to peptides with trypsin, and label-free MS analysis can readily reveal the identity of the proteins forming the fibril core. Notably, some of these proteins have an inherent tendency to form supramolecular assemblies in non-membrane-bound organelles. In addition, many of the proteins identified in the analysis of amyloid-beta (A&#946;) fibrils are also associated with other neurodegenerative diseases, suggesting that these proteins may play a key role in multiple proteinopathies.
This SDS/ultrasonication method is unlikely to alter or disrupt the structure of the fibril cores. The purified material is also suitable for a wide range of top-down and bottom-up proteomic analysis approaches and additional MS-based structural analysis strategies, such as chemical crosslinking or hydrogen-deuterium exchange. The overall recovery using this method is relatively high and, thus, is suitable for detailed structural studies, which require micrograms to milligrams of the purified material. The purified material is also suitable for structural studies using cryoEM and atomic force microscopy. This protocol, in combination with the stable isotopic labeling of mammals, can facilitate solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies of amyloid structure10.

<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Acclaim PepMap 100 C18 HPLC column 0.075 mm x 20&#160;mm</td>
			<td>Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td>164535</td>
			<td rowspan="35">Alternative instruments, chemicals and antibodies from other manufacturers can be used</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ammonium bicarbonate</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>9830</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>anti-amyloid beta (1-16) 6E10 antibody</td>
			<td>Biolegend</td>
			<td>803001</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>anti-amyloid beta (17-24) 4G8 antibody</td>
			<td>Biolegend</td>
			<td>800701</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>anti-amyloid beta (N terminus 82E1) antibody</td>
			<td>IBL America</td>
			<td>10323</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>anti-amyloid fibril LOC antibody</td>
			<td>&#160;EMD Millipore</td>
			<td>AB2287</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>BCA kit</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>23225</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Bioruptor Pico Plus</td>
			<td>Diagenode</td>
			<td>B01020001</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Calcium Chloride</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>&#160;C1016</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Collagenase</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>C0130</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Complete&#160; Protease Inhibitor Cocktail</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>11697498001</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Dnase I</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>EN0521</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>EDTA</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>EDS</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Guanidine hydrochloride</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>G4505</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>HyperSep C18 Cartridges</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>60108-302</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Integrated Proteomics Pipeline - IP2&#160;</td>
			<td>http://www.integratedproteomics.com/</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Iodoacetamide (IAA)</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>I1149</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>K54 Tissue Homogenizing System Motor</td>
			<td>Cole Parmer</td>
			<td>Glas-Col 099C</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>MaxQuant</td>
			<td>https://www.maxquant.org/</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Micro BCA kit</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>23235</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Nanoviper 75 &#956;m x 50&#160;cm</td>
			<td>Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td>164942</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Optima L-90K Ultracentrifuge</td>
			<td>Beckman Coulter</td>
			<td>BR-8101P-E</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Orbitrap Fusion TribridMass Spectrometer</td>
			<td>Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td>IQLAAEGAAPFADBMBCX</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Pierce C18 Spin Columns</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>89870</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Precellys 24 tissue homogenizer</td>
			<td>Bertin Instruments</td>
			<td>P000062-PEVO0-A</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>ProteaseMAX(TM) Surfactant Trypsin Enhancer</td>
			<td>Promega</td>
			<td>V2072</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>RawConverter</td>
			<td>http://www.fields.scripps.edu/rawconv/</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sodium azide</td>
			<td>VWR</td>
			<td>97064-646</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>74255</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sorvall Legend Micro 21R Microcentrifuge</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>75002446</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Speed Vaccum Concentrator</td>
			<td>Labconco</td>
			<td>7315021</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tris-2-carboxyethylphosphine (TCEP)</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>C4706-2G</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tris-HCl</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>15568025</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Trypsin Gold-Mass spec grade</td>
			<td>Promega</td>
			<td>V5280</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>UltiMate 3000 RSLCnano System</td>
			<td>Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td>ULTIM3000RSLCNANO</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

biochemical purification and proteomic characterization of amyloid fibril cores from the brain

Proteinaceous fibrillar inclusions are key pathological hallmarks of multiple neurodegenerative diseases. In the early stages of Alzheimer&#39;s disease (AD), amyloid-beta peptides form protofibrils in the extracellular space, which act as seeds that gradually grow and mature into large amyloid plaques. Despite this basic understanding, current knowledge of the amyloid fibril structure, composition, and deposition patterns in the brain is limited. One major barrier has been the inability to isolate highly purified amyloid fibrils from brain extracts. Affinity purification and laser capture microdissection-based approaches have been previously used to isolate amyloids but are limited by the small quantity of material that can be recovered. This novel, robust protocol describes the biochemical purification of amyloid plaque cores using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) solubilization with sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation and ultrasonication and yields highly pure fibrils from AD patients and AD model brain tissues. Mass spectrometry (MS)-based bottom-up proteomic analysis of the purified material represents a robust strategy to identify nearly all the primary protein components of amyloid fibrils. Previous proteomic studies of proteins in the amyloid coronae have revealed an unexpectedly large and functionally diverse collection of proteins. Notably, after refining the purification strategy, the number of co-purifying proteins was reduced by more than 10-fold, indicating the high purity of the isolated SDS insoluble material. Negative staining and immuno-gold electron microscopy allowed confirmation of the purity of these preparations. Further studies are required to understand the spatial and biological attributes that contribute to the deposition of these proteins into amyloid inclusions. Taken together, this analytical strategy is well-positioned to increase the understanding of amyloid biology.

Here, a detailed method for the isolation and purification of amyloid fibrils using a modified sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation purification method is summarized (see Figure 1). The innovation in this method is the inclusion of steps of ultrasonication-based washing using a water bath sonication system followed by SDS solubilization, which removes many loosely associated proteins from the amyloid fibrils that co-purify with the highly dense and clean fibrils. The ultrasonication ...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Biochemical Purification and Proteomic Characterization of Amyloid Fibril Cores from the Brain at JoVE.com

Biochemical Purification and Proteomic Characterization of Amyloid Fibril Cores from the Brain

This biochemical purification method with mass spectrometry-based proteomic analysis facilitates the robust characterization of amyloid fibril cores, which may accelerate the identification of targets for preventing Alzheimer's disease.

Proteinaceous fibrillar inclusions are key pathological hallmarks of multiple neurodegenerative diseases. In the early stages of Alzheimer&#39;s disease ...

Amyloid plaques are required for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. However, they're not sufficient. Despite this fact, they remain enigmatic due in part to challenges in characterizing their contents.Our protocol is highly efficient at isolating amyloid fibrils at high purity and is well suited for understanding the fine details of structure and composition. Knowing the protein content of amyloid plaques may help identify the targets of therapeutic intervention that may delay, interfere, or prevent their accumulation. Therefore, delaying the disease onset.This method is well suited for extracting protein deposits from degenerated brain tissues and protein aggregates in different other protein pathways. Begin by placing a freshly dissected or snap frozen brain tissue region in a two milliliter tube containing six to eight ceramic beads in freshly prepared ice cold homogenization buffer. Then grind the tissue using a bead mill homogenizer at 4, 000 rpm with two cycles of 30 seconds on and off pulse.Now add nine milliliters of ice cold homogenization buffer to the one milliliter of brain tissue homogenate and a 15 milliliter tube and seal with laboratory wax film strips. To ensure robust solubilization, keep the tube rotating overnight at four degrees Celsius. The following day, add solid sucrose to the tissue extract suspension to a final concentration of 1.2 moles.Mix well and centrifuge had 250, 000 x g for 45 minutes at four degree Celsius. After discarding the supernatant, resuspend the pellet in two milliliters of homogenization buffer containing 1.9 molar sucrose by triturating and centrifuge at 125, 000 x g for 45 minutes at four degree Celsius. After centrifugation transfer the top white solid layer to a fresh tube and solubilize one milliliter of ice cold wash buffer by petting up and down several times.Since the pellet is also enriched with amyloid fibrils, discard the aqueous middle layer and combine the pellet with the top layer for a higher yield. Centrifuge the combined fractions at 8, 000 x g for 20 minutes at four degrees Celsius. After discarding the supernatant, resuspend the pellet in one milliliter of ice cold digestion buffer and incubate at room temperature for three hours on a vortex.Centrifuge the sample again, then wash the pellet twice in one milliliter of ice cold Tris buffer and centrifuge again. After the second wash, resuspend the pellet in one milliliter of solubilization buffer by pipetting up and down and quickly centrifuge the tube at 200, 000 x g for 60 minutes at four degrees Celsius. Save the pellet, then reduce the sucrose concentration from 1.3 to one molar by adding 50 millimolar Tris buffer to the supernatant.Centrifuge the supernatant again, then dissolve both pellets and 100 microliters of Tris buffer containing 0.5%SDS. For amyloid purification, solubilize the amyloid-rich pellets using ultrasound waves in a bath sonication device for 20 cycles, then immediately centrifuge the material at 20, 000 x g for 30 minutes at four degrees Celsius. Resuspend the pellet in 500 microliters of 0.5%SDS Tris buffer and repeat the washing four more times, After the final centrifugation step, wash the pellet in 200 microliters of ultrapure water and centrifuge 20, 000 x g for 30 minutes at four degrees Celsius to remove any remaining detergent.Dissolve the final pellet containing purified amyloid fibrils in 100 microliters of ultrapure water. Dissolve the purified 100 microliters of amyloid fibrils in 400 microliters of methanol and vortex well. Then mix in 100 microliters of chloroform and vortex again.Next, add 300 microliters of ultrapure water and vortex thoroughly. After centrifugation at 12, 000 x g for two minutes at room temperature, carefully remove the top aqueous layer without disturbing the interface layer containing the protein flake and add the same volume of methanol again. Repeat the centrifugation, discard the supernatant and air dry the pellet.For digestion, dissolve the pellet in 50 microliters of guanidine hydrochloride buffer and sonicate in an ice cold water bath. Then vortex thoroughly for 45 minutes to one hour at room temperature, add 50 microliters of 0.2%surfactant solution and vortex again for another 60 minutes. Next, add one microliter of 500 millimolar TCEP and incubate for 60 minutes.Then add two microliters of 500 millimolar iodoacetamide and incubate in the dark for 20 minutes. After the incubation, quench the iodoacetamide with five microliters of TCEP solution for 15 minutes. Next, add the required volume of 50 millimolar ammonium bicarbonate solution to the tube to reduce the guanidine concentration to 1.5 moles.Also, add 1%surfactant solution to the tube. Then add trypsin and leave the tube mixing at 37 degrees Celsius overnight. The next day, add formic acid to the digested peptide solution to lower the pH to 2.0, then activate the C18 spin column by adding 200 microliters of 50%methanol solution and spinning at 1500 x g for two minutes at room temperature.Next, equilibrate the C18 column resin beds by adding 200 microliters of equilibration buffer and spinning again for two minutes. After equilibration, load the acidified peptide solution on the C18 column and centrifuge at 1500 x g for two minutes at room temperature. Reload the flow through, spin the column, and discard the second flow through.Then wash the peptides bound to the C18 resin twice with the wash buffer. Elute the peptide three times by adding 40 microliters of elution buffer and centrifuging the column. Dry the peptides in a speed vacuum concentrator by evaporating the aqueous solution.The dry pellets can be saved at 20 degree Celsius for a few weeks before the MS analysis. Congo red staining of purified amyloids documents the enrichment of the amyloid fibrils compared to the SDS soluble fraction. The SDS soluble fraction did not show the presence of amyloids.The structure of the purified fibrils confirmed the presence of nearly pure amyloid fibrils. Also, immunogold labeling confirmed the presence of amyloid beta-42 peptides. Staining using anti-amyloid beta-42 and anti-fibril antibodies showed a relative abundance of amyloid beta-42 peptides in fibrils.Purified amyloid fractions showed the presence of approximately 250 proteins, while the fraction collected before ultrasonication and SDS wash contained more than 2, 500 proteins. Fibril cores showed enrichment of proteins associated with nonmembrane bound organelle and supramolecular complexes. Amyloids are low abundance species, maybe a few picograms to few micrograms per milligrams of brain tissues.So you need to be very careful while picking up the layers, pallets or discarding the supernatant. With the development of this technique, you can now more confidently identify proteins associated with the initial amyloid seeds, characterize their structure and target them for therapeutic intervention. Therefore, preventing the onset of this deadly disease.

biochemical-purification-proteomic-characterization-amyloid-fibril

Research

JoVE Journal

Neuroscience

Selection of Aptamers for Amyloid &beta;-Protein, the Causative Agent of Alzheimer&#39;s Disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive, age-dependent, neurodegenerative disorder with an insidious course that renders its presymptomatic diagnosis difficult1. Definite AD diagnosis is achieved only postmortem, thus establishing presymptomatic, early diagnosis of AD is crucial for developing and administering effective therapies2,3.
Amyloid &beta;-protein (A&beta;) is central to AD pathogenesis. Soluble, oligomeric A&beta; assemblies are believed to affect neurotoxicity underlying synaptic dysfunction and neuron loss in AD4,5. Various forms of soluble A&beta; assemblies have been described, however, their interrelationships and relevance to AD etiology and pathogenesis are complex and not well understood6. Specific molecular recognition tools may unravel the relationships amongst A&beta; assemblies and facilitate detection and characterization of these assemblies early in the disease course before symptoms emerge. Molecular recognition commonly relies on antibodies. However, an alternative class of molecular recognition tools, aptamers, offers important advantages relative to antibodies7,8. Aptamers are oligonucleotides generated by in-vitro selection: systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX)9,10. SELEX is an iterative process that, similar to Darwinian evolution, allows selection, amplification, enrichment, and perpetuation of a property, e.g., avid, specific, ligand binding (aptamers) or catalytic activity (ribozymes and DNAzymes).
Despite emergence of aptamers as tools in modern biotechnology and medicine11, they have been underutilized in the amyloid field. Few RNA or ssDNA aptamers have been selected against various forms of prion proteins (PrP)12-16. An RNA aptamer generated against recombinant bovine PrP was shown to recognize bovine PrP-&beta;17, a soluble, oligomeric, &beta;-sheet-rich conformational variant of full-length PrP that forms amyloid fibrils18. Aptamers generated using monomeric and several forms of fibrillar &beta;2-microglobulin (&beta;2m) were found to bind fibrils of certain other amyloidogenic proteins besides &beta;2m fibrils19. Ylera et al. described RNA aptamers selected against immobilized monomeric A&beta;4020. Unexpectedly, these aptamers bound fibrillar A&beta;40. Altogether, these data raise several important questions. Why did aptamers selected against monomeric proteins recognize their polymeric forms? Could aptamers against monomeric and/or oligomeric forms of amyloidogenic proteins be obtained? To address these questions, we attempted to select aptamers for covalently-stabilized oligomeric A&beta;4021 generated using photo-induced cross-linking of unmodified proteins (PICUP)22,23. Similar to previous findings17,19,20, these aptamers reacted with fibrils of A&beta; and several other amyloidogenic proteins likely recognizing a potentially common amyloid structural aptatope21. Here, we present the SELEX methodology used in production of these aptamers21.

Selection of Aptamers for Amyloid &amp;#946;-Protein, the Causative Agent of Alzheimer&#039;s Disease

Aptamers are short ribo-/deoxyribo-oligonucleotides selected by in-vitro evolution methods based on affinity for a specific target. Aptamers are molecular recognition tools with versatile therapeutic, diagnostic, and research applications. We demonstrate methods for selection of aptamers for amyloid &beta;-protein, the causative agent of Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive, age-dependent, neurodegenerative disorder with an insidious course that renders its presymptomatic diagnosis ...

Isolation and Culture of Endothelial Cells from the Embryonic Forebrain

Embryonic brain endothelial cells can serve as an important tool in the study of angiogenesis and neurovascular development and interactions. The two vascular networks of the embryonic forebrain, pial and periventricular, are spatially distinctive and have different origins and growth patterns. Endothelial cells from the pial and periventricular vascular networks have unique gene expression profiles and functions. Here we present a step-by-step protocol for isolation, culture, and verification of pure populations of endothelial cells from the periventricular vascular network (PVECs) of the embryonic forebrain (telencephalon). In this approach, telencephalon devoid of pial membrane obtained from embryonic day 15 mice is minced, digested with collagenase/dispase, and dispersed mechanically into a single cell suspension. PVECs are purified from cell suspension using positive selection with anti-CD-31/PECAM-1 antibody conjugated to MicroBeads using a strong magnetic separation method. Purified cells are cultured on collagen 1&#160;coated culture dishes in endothelial cell culture medium until they become confluent and further subcultured. PVECs obtained with this protocol exhibit cobblestone and spindle shaped phenotypes, as visualized by phase-contrast light microscopy and fluorescence microscopy. Purity of PVEC cultures was established with endothelial cell markers. In our hands, this method reliably and consistently yields pure populations of PVECs. This protocol will benefit studies aimed at gaining mechanistic insights into forebrain angiogenesis, understanding PVEC interactions, and cross-talks with neuronal cell types and holds tremendous potential for therapeutic angiogenesis.

This video demonstrates an easy and reliable strategy for preparation of pure cultures of endothelial cells from the embryonic forebrain within 10-12 days and will be useful for research focused on many aspects of cerebral angiogenesis.

Embryonic brain endothelial cells can serve as an important tool in the study of angiogenesis and neurovascular development and interactions. The two ...

Stereotaxic Infusion of Oligomeric Amyloid-beta into the Mouse Hippocampus

Alzheimer&#8217;s disease is a neurodegenerative disease affecting the aging population. A key neuropathological feature of the disease is the over-production of amyloid-beta and the deposition of amyloid-beta plaques in brain regions of the afflicted individuals. Throughout the years scientists have generated numerous Alzheimer&#8217;s disease mouse models that attempt to replicate the amyloid-beta pathology. Unfortunately, the mouse models only selectively mimic the disease features. Neuronal death, a prominent effect in the brains of Alzheimer&#8217;s disease patients, is noticeably lacking in these mice. Hence, we and others have employed a method of directly infusing soluble oligomeric species of amyloid-beta - forms of amyloid-beta that have been proven to be most toxic to neurons - stereotaxically into the brain. In this report we utilize male C57BL/6J mice to document this surgical technique of increasing amyloid-beta levels in a select brain region. The infusion target is the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus because this brain structure, along with the basal forebrain that is connected by the cholinergic circuit, represents one of the areas of degeneration in the disease. The results of elevating amyloid-beta in the dentate gyrus via stereotaxic infusion reveal increases in neuron loss in the dentate gyrus within 1 week, while there is a concomitant increase in cell death and cholinergic neuron loss in the vertical limb of the diagonal band of Broca of the basal forebrain. These effects are observed up to 2 weeks. Our data suggests that the current amyloid-beta infusion model provides an alternative mouse model to address region specific neuron death in a short-term basis. The advantage of this model is that amyloid-beta can be elevated in a spatial and temporal manner.

Here, we present a protocol for direct stereotaxic brain infusion of amyloid-beta. This methodology provides an alternative in vivo mouse model to address the short-term effects of amyloid-beta on brain neurons.

Alzheimer&#8217;s disease is a neurodegenerative disease affecting the aging population. A key neuropathological feature of the disease is the ...

Purification of Mouse Brain Vessels

In the brain, most of the vascular system consists of a selective barrier, the blood-brain barrier (BBB) that regulates the exchange of molecules and immune cells between the brain and the blood. Moreover, the huge neuronal metabolic demand requires a moment-to-moment regulation of blood flow. Notably, abnormalities of these regulations are etiological hallmarks of most brain pathologies; including glioblastoma, stroke, edema, epilepsy, degenerative diseases (ex: Parkinson&#8217;s disease, Alzheimer&#8217;s disease), brain tumors, as well as inflammatory conditions such as multiple sclerosis, meningitis and sepsis-induced brain dysfunctions. Thus, understanding the signaling events modulating the cerebrovascular physiology is a major challenge. Much insight into the cellular and molecular properties of the various cell types that compose the cerebrovascular system can be gained from primary culture or cell sorting from freshly dissociated brain tissue. However, properties such as cell polarity, morphology and intercellular relationships are not maintained in such preparations. The protocol that we describe here is designed to purify brain vessel fragments, whilst maintaining structural integrity. We show that isolated vessels consist of endothelial cells sealed by tight junctions that are surrounded by a continuous basal lamina. Pericytes, smooth muscle cells as well as the perivascular astrocyte endfeet membranes remain attached to the endothelial layer. Finally, we describe how to perform immunostaining experiments on purified brain vessels.

We describe a protocol allowing the purification of the mouse brain's vascular compartment. Isolated brain vessels include endothelial cells linked by tight junctions and surrounded by a continuous basal lamina, pericytes, vascular smooth muscle cells, as well as perivascular astroglial membranes.

In the brain, most of the vascular system consists of a selective barrier, the blood-brain barrier (BBB) that regulates the exchange of molecules and ...

Modeling Amyloid-&#946;42 Toxicity and Neurodegeneration in Adult Zebrafish Brain

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a debilitating neurodegenerative disease in which accumulation of toxic amyloid-&#946;42 (A&#946;42) peptides leads to synaptic degeneration, inflammation, neuronal death, and learning deficits. Humans cannot regenerate lost neurons in the case of AD in part due to impaired proliferative capacity of the neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) and reduced neurogenesis. Therefore, efficient regenerative therapies should also enhance the proliferation and neurogenic capacity of NSPCs. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) is a regenerative organism, and we can learn the basic molecular programs with which we could design therapeutic approaches to tackle AD. For this reason, the generation of an AD-like model in zebrafish was necessary. Using our methodology, we can introduce synthetic derivatives of A&#946;42 peptide with tissue penetrating capability into the adult zebrafish brain, and analyze the disease pathology and the regenerative response. The advantage over the existing methods or animal models is that zebrafish can teach us how a vertebrate brain can naturally regenerate, and thus help us to treat human neurodegenerative diseases better by targeting endogenous NSPCs. Therefore, the amyloid-toxicity model established in the adult zebrafish brain may open new avenues for research in the field of neuroscience and clinical medicine. Additionally, the simple execution of this method allows for cost-effective and efficient experimental assessment. This manuscript describes the synthesis and injection of A&#946;42 peptides into zebrafish brain.

Modeling Amyloid-&amp;#946;42 Toxicity and Neurodegeneration in Adult Zebrafish Brain

This protocol describes the synthesis, characterization, and injection of monomeric amyloid-&#946;42 peptides for generating amyloid toxicity in adult zebrafish to establish an Alzheimer&#39;s disease model, followed by histological analyses and detection of aggregations.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a debilitating neurodegenerative disease in which accumulation of toxic amyloid-&#946;42 (A&#946;42) peptides leads to ...

Visualization of Amyloid &#946; Deposits in the Human Brain with Matrix-assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Imaging Mass Spectrometry

The neuropathology of Alzheimer&#39;s disease (AD) is characterized by the accumulation and aggregation of amyloid &#946; (A&#946;) peptides into extracellular plaques of the brain. The A&#946; peptides, composed of 40 amino acids, are generated from amyloid precursor proteins (APP) by &#946;- and &#947;-secretases. A&#946; is deposited not only in cerebral parenchyma but also in leptomeningeal and cerebral vessel walls, known as cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). While a variety of A&#946; peptides were identified, the detailed production and distribution of individual A&#946; peptides in pathological tissues of AD and CAA have not been fully addressed. Here, we develop a protocol of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-based imaging mass spectrometry (MALDI-IMS) on human autopsy brain tissues to obtain comprehensive protein mapping. For this purpose, human cortical specimens were obtained from the Brain Bank at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology. Frozen cryosections are cut and transferred to indium-tin-oxide (ITO)-coated glass slides. Spectra are acquired using the MALDI system with a spatial resolution up to 20 &#181;m. Sinapinic acid (SA) is uniformly deposited on the slide using either an automatic or a manual sprayer. With the current technical advantages of MALDI-IMS, a typical data set of various A&#946; species within the same sections of human autopsied brains can be obtained without specific probes. Furthermore, high-resolution (20 &#181;m) imaging of an AD brain and severe CAA sample clearly shows that A&#946;1-36 to A&#946;1-41 were deposited into leptomeningeal vessels, while A&#946;1-42 and A&#946;1-43 were deposited in cerebral parenchyma as senile plaque (SP). It is feasible to adopt MALDI-IMS as a standard approach in combination with clinical, genetic, and pathological observations in understanding the pathology of AD, CAA, and other neurological diseases based on the current strategy.

Visualization of Amyloid &amp;#946; Deposits in the Human Brain with Matrix-assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Imaging Mass Spectrometry

Molecular imaging with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-based imaging mass spectrometry (MALDI-IMS) allows the simultaneous mapping of multiple analytes in biological samples. Here, we present a protocol for the detection and visualization of amyloid &#946; protein on brain tissues of Alzheimer&#39;s disease and cerebral amyloid angiopathy samples using MALDI-IMS.

The neuropathology of Alzheimer&#39;s disease (AD) is characterized by the accumulation and aggregation of amyloid &#946; (A&#946;) peptides into ...

Production, Purification, and Quality Control for Adeno-associated Virus-based Vectors

Gene delivery tools based on adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) are a popular choice for the delivery of transgenes to the central nervous system (CNS), including gene therapy applications. AAV vectors are non-replicating, able to infect both dividing and non-dividing cells&#160;and provide long-term transgene expression. Importantly, some serotypes, such as the newly described PHP.B, can cross the blood-brain-barrier (BBB) in animal models, following systemic delivery. AAV vectors can be efficiently produced in the laboratory. However, robust and reproducible protocols are required to obtain AAV vectors with sufficient purity levels and titer values high enough for in vivo applications. This protocol describes an efficient and reproducible strategy for AAV vector production, based on an iodixanol gradient purification strategy. The iodixanol purification method is suitable for obtaining batches of high-titer AAV vectors of high purity, when compared to other purification methods. Furthermore, the protocol is generally faster than other methods currently described. In addition, a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR)-based strategy is described for a fast and accurate determination of the vector titer, as well as a silver staining method to determine the purity of the vector batch. Finally, representative results of gene delivery to the CNS, following systemic administration of AAV-PHP.B, are presented. Such results should be possible in all labs using the protocols described in this article.

Here, we describe an efficient and reproducible strategy to produce, titer, and quality-control batches of adeno-associated virus vectors. It allows the user to obtain a vector preparation with high-titer&#160;(&#8805;1 x 1013 vector genomes/mL) and a high purity, ready for in vitro or in vivo use.

Gene delivery tools based on adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) are a popular choice for the delivery of transgenes to the central nervous system (CNS), ...

Purification of the Dendritic Filopodia-rich Fraction

Dendritic filopodia are thin and long protrusions based on the actin filament, and they extend and retract as if searching for a target axon. When the dendritic filopodia establish contact with a target axon, they begin maturing into spines, leading to the formation of a synapse. Telencephalin (TLCN) is abundantly localized in dendritic filopodia and is gradually excluded from spines. Overexpression of TLCN in cultured hippocampal neurons induces dendritic filopodia formation. We showed that telencephalin strongly binds to an extracellular matrix molecule, vitronectin. Vitronectin-coated microbeads induced phagocytic cup formation on neuronal dendrites. In the phagocytic cup, TLCN, TLCN-binding proteins such as phosphorylated Ezrin/Radixin/Moesin (phospho-ERM), and F-actin are accumulated, which suggests that components of the phagocytic cup are similar to those of dendritic filopodia. Thus, we developed a method for purifying the phagocytic cup instead of dendritic filopodia. Magnetic polystyrene beads were coated with vitronectin, which is abundantly present in the culture medium of hippocampal neurons and which induces phagocytic cup formation on neuronal dendrites. After 24 h of incubation, the phagocytic cups were mildly solubilized with detergent and collected using a magnet separator. After washing the beads, the binding proteins were eluted and analyzed by silver staining and Western blotting. In the binding fraction, TLCN and actin were abundantly present. In addition, many proteins identified from the fraction were localized to the dendritic filopodia; thus, we named the binding fraction as the dendritic filopodia-rich fraction. This article describes details regarding the purification method for the dendritic filopodia-rich fraction.

In this protocol, we introduce a method for purifying the dendritic filopodia-rich fraction from the phagocytic cup-like protrusion structure on cultured hippocampal neurons by taking advantage of the specific and strong affinity between a dendritic filopodial adhesion molecule, TLCN, and an extracellular matrix molecule, vitronectin.

Dendritic filopodia are thin and long protrusions based on the actin filament, and they extend and retract as if searching for a target axon. When the ...

Labeling and Imaging of Amyloid Plaques in Brain Tissue Using the Natural Polyphenol Curcumin

Deposition of amyloid beta protein (A&#946;) in extra- and intracellular spaces is one of the hallmark pathologies of Alzheimer&#39;s disease (AD). Therefore, detection of the presence of A&#946; in AD brain tissue is a valuable tool for developing new treatments to prevent the progression of AD. Several classical amyloid binding dyes, fluorochrome, imaging probes, and A&#946;-specific antibodies have been used to detect A&#946; histochemically in AD brain tissue. Use of these compounds for A&#946; detection is costly and time consuming. However, because of its intense fluorescent activity, high-affinity, and specificity for A&#946;, as well as structural similarities with traditional amyloid binding dyes, curcumin (Cur) is a promising candidate for labeling and imaging of A&#946; plaques in postmortem brain tissue. It is a natural polyphenol from the herb Curcuma longa. In the present study, Cur was used to histochemically label A&#946; plaques from both a genetic mouse model of 5x familial Alzheimer&#39;s disease (5xFAD) and from human AD tissue within a minute. The labeling capability of Cur was compared to conventional amyloid binding dyes, such as thioflavin-S (Thio-S), Congo red (CR), and Fluoro-jade C (FJC), as well as A&#946;-specific antibodies (6E10 and A11). We observed that Cur is the most inexpensive and quickest way to label and image A&#946; plaques when compared to these conventional dyes and is comparable to A&#946;-specific antibodies. In addition, Cur binds with most A&#946; species, such as oligomers and fibrils. Therefore, Cur could be used as the most cost-effective, simple, and quick fluorochrome detection agent for A&#946; plaques.

Curcumin is an ideal fluorophore for labeling and imaging of amyloid beta protein plaques in brain tissue due to its preferential binding to amyloid beta protein as well as its structural similarities with other traditional amyloid binding dyes. It can be used to label and image amyloid beta protein plaques more efficiently and inexpensively than traditional methods.

Deposition of amyloid beta protein (A&#946;) in extra- and intracellular spaces is one of the hallmark pathologies of Alzheimer&#39;s disease (AD). ...

Studying Pre-formed Fibril Induced &#945;-Synuclein Accumulation in Primary Embryonic Mouse Midbrain Dopamine Neurons

The goal of this protocol is to establish a robust and reproducible model of &#945;-synuclein accumulation in primary dopamine neurons. Combined with immunostaining and unbiased automated image analysis, this model allows for the analysis of the effects of drugs and genetic manipulations on &#945;-synuclein aggregation in neuronal cultures. Primary midbrain cultures provide a reliable source of bona fide embryonic dopamine neurons. In this protocol, the hallmark histopathology of Parkinson&#8217;s disease, Lewy bodies (LB), is mimicked by the addition of &#945;-synuclein pre-formed fibrils (PFFs) directly to neuronal culture media. Accumulation of endogenous phosphorylated &#945;-synuclein in the soma of dopamine neurons is detected by immunostaining already at 7 days after the PFF addition. In vitro cell culture conditions are also suitable for the application and evaluation of treatments preventing &#945;-synuclein accumulation, such as small molecule drugs and neurotrophic factors, as well as lentivirus vectors for genetic manipulation (e.g., with CRISPR/Cas9). Culturing the neurons in 96 well plates increases the robustness and power of the experimental setups. At the end of the experiment, the cells are fixed with paraformaldehyde for immunocytochemistry and fluorescence microscopy imaging. Multispectral fluorescence images are obtained via automated microscopy of 96 well plates. These data are quantified (e.g., counting the number of phospho-&#945;-synuclein-containing dopamine neurons per well) with the use of free software that provides a platform for unbiased high-content phenotype analysis. PFF-induced modeling of phosphorylated &#945;-synuclein accumulation in primary dopamine neurons provides a reliable tool to study the underlying mechanisms mediating formation and elimination of &#945;-synuclein inclusions, with the opportunity for high-throughput drug screening and cellular phenotype analysis.

Studying Pre-formed Fibril Induced &amp;#945;-Synuclein Accumulation in Primary Embryonic Mouse Midbrain Dopamine Neurons

Here, we present a detailed protocol to study neuronal &#945;-synuclein accumulation in primary mouse dopamine neurons. Phosphorylated &#945;-synuclein aggregates in neurons are induced with pre-formed &#945;-synuclein fibrils. Automated imaging of immunofluorescently labeled cells and unbiased image analysis make this robust protocol suitable for medium-to-high throughput screening of drugs that inhibit &#945;-synuclein accumulation.

The goal of this protocol is to establish a robust and reproducible model of &#945;-synuclein accumulation in primary dopamine neurons. Combined with ...