Multielement concentration analysis of Swiss mice brains on experimental model of Alzheimer's disease induced by β‐amyloid oligomers

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an insidious, progressive, and irreversible brain disorder that leads to memory loss and severe cognitive decline. However, the discovery that soluble β‐amyloid oligomers are potent central nervous system neurotoxins has led to a new view of AD pathogenesis. Metals, such as zinc, iron, and copper, are all increased in the aged brain, and the contents of those metals in the brain of AD patients are higher than non‐AD people. So, altered homeostasis of metal may result in the development of AD. Total reflection X‐ray fluorescence analysis (TXRF) is a multielement analytical technique, which can be used for elemental trace analysis. In this work, TXRF was used to evaluate the elemental concentration and distribution on mice brain regions. Three groups were studied: control, AD10, and AD100, being the two latter were given a single intracerebroventricular injection of 10 pmol and 100 pmol (β‐amyloid oligomers), respectively, to induce experimental AD. All samples were submitted to acid digestion. The TXRF measurements were performed at the X‐Ray Fluorescence Beamline at Brazilian National Synchrotron Light Laboratory, using a monochromatic beam (11.5 keV) for the excitation. It was possible to determine the concentrations of the following elements: P, S, K, Fe, Cu, and Zn. Results showed differences in the elemental concentration in some brain regions between the AD groups and the control group. Furthermore, the difference in the hypothalamus in AD10 groups, both female and male, suggests an association between AD and changes in these elements. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Total reflection X-ray fluorescence

“…The surface morphologies of tungsten thin film structures and gold nanoparticles on silicon surfaces were investigated at the Indus-2 synchrotron facility (Indore, India) and the elemental distribution in mice brains with and without Alzheimer's disease after acid digestion were examined at the Brazilian National Light Laboratory (Campinas, Brazil) [121,122].…”

Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence: A Valuable Analytic Tool for Environmental and Biological Studies

“…Among them superficial water samples [27], human biological materials and fluids [6,7,28], wine [29], soil [30], organic samples (bacteria, plant, mosses, fertilizer) [31][32][33][34] were analyzed. So far this year, eight papers have been published [3,4,[35][36][37][38][39][40]. Among them, a new type of sample appears, such as, seaweed [4].…”