FIGURE 3.

Increased cholesterol promotes association of Aβ to neurons. (A,B) Confocal microscopy images of hippocampal neurons exhibiting fluorescence for MAP-2 and demonstrating the distribution of Aβ₄₂-FAM aggregates (green) on the cell membrane after treatment with MβCD-Cholesterol complex (200 μM) for 20 min. (A1–A3,B1–B3) ROIs of representative neurites show the overall distribution of Aβ (1 μM, after 1 h) on neuronal processes in more detail. (C,D) Representative traces of primary processes shown in (A,B), respectively. (E,F) Quantification of Aβ clusters (number and area) in the first 20 μm of hippocampal neuron primary processes showing that both parameters were increased after treatment with MβCD-Cholesterol complex (200 μM) for 20 min. The bars represent the mean ± SEM. Asterisks denote: ^∗∗p < 0.005 and ^∗∗∗p < 0.001.