Selective contrast enhancement of individual Alzheimer's disease amyloid plaques using a polyamine and Gd-DOTA conjugated antibody fragment against fibrillar Abeta42 for magnetic resonance molecular imaging.

PURPOSE: The lack of an in vivo diagnostic test for AD has prompted the targeting of amyloid plaques with diagnostic imaging probes. We describe the development of a contrast agent (CA) for magnetic resonance microimaging that utilizes the F(ab')2 fragment of a monoclonal antibody raised against fibrillar human Abeta42
METHODS: This fragment is polyamine modified to enhance its BBB permeability and its ability to bind to amyloid plaques. It is also conjugated with a chelator and gadolinium for subsequent imaging of individual amyloid plaques
RESULTS: Pharmacokinetic studies demonstrated this 125I-CA has higher BBB permeability and lower accumulation in the liver and kidney than F(ab')2 in WT mice. The CA retains its ability to bind Abeta40/42 monomers/fibrils and also binds to amyloid plaques in sections of AD mouse brain. Intravenous injection of 125I-CA into the AD mouse demonstrates targeting of amyloid plaques throughout the cortex/hippocampus as detected by emulsion autoradiography. Incubation of AD mouse brain slices in vitro with this CA resulted in selective enhancement on T1-weighted spin-echo images, which co-register with individual plaques observed on spatially matched T2-weighted spin-echo image
CONCLUSIONS: Development of such a molecular probe is expected to open new avenues for the diagnosis of AD.