Mapping amyloid-induced neurodegeneration in the gut using MALDI imaging.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevailing form of dementia worldwide. In light of the aging population and absence of a cure, alternative research paths are being explored to tackle the disease at an early stage. Recent evidence suggests that the gut could play an important role in AD pathogenesis as it is continuously exposed to amyloids and is vulnerable to inflammatory stimuli that compromise its integrity. Current experimental methods for querying pathological signatures in gut tissue are either destructive or not sufficiently specific. Hence, we propose to use Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization – Mass Spectrometry Imaging (MALDI-MSI) to quantify amyloid pathology and the associated proteomic changes in a comprehensive and spatially resolved manner. We will apply this technique to a mouse model that displays an accelerated aging phenotype, and develops the typical hallmarks of AD. To validate amyloid enrichment therein, we will make use of fluorescent markers, and as internal control, we will compare gut with brain tissue. In the spirit of the recently established valorization platform IMARK, this new collaborative initiative between the laboratory of Cell Biology and Histology and the Centre for Proteomics should facilitate the discovery of novel early biomarkers for AD in an organ that is much more accessible than the brain.

Keywords:MALDI IMAGING, MICROBIOME-GUT-BRAIN AXIS, MICROSCOPIC CHARACTERIZATION

Disciplines:Gastro-enterology, Histology, Neurosciences not elsewhere classified, Biomarker discovery