FIGURE 6.

Identification of early and progressive PDGFRβ/pericyte loss, associated with vascular amyloidosis in AD retina. (A) Schematic diagram of retinal vascular network isolation and immunofluorescence staining. (B,C) Representative fluorescent images showing Aβ₄₂ (12F4 immunoreactivity in red), blood vessels (lectin in green) and nuclei (DAPI in blue) in isolated retinal microvasculature networks from a cognitively normal (CN) control subject (B) and AD patient (C), with higher Aβ₄₂ deposits in AD retinal microvasculature and pericytes. (D) Higher magnification image of AD retina shows co-localization of Aβ₄₂ and lectin-positive vascular walls in yellow. (E,E’) Retinal cross-section from an AD patient immunostained with anti-Aβ₄₀ (JRF/cAβ_40/28) mAb and DAB labeling and hematoxylin counterstain. Red arrow, also shown in higher magnification image (E’), points to vascular Aβ₄₀ in tunica media, adventitia or intima. Scale bar: 20 μm. (F) TEM image of retinal cross-section from an AD patient immunostained with anti-Aβ₄₂ mAb (12F4) and peroxidase-based DAB, revealing the localization and ultrastructure of vascular-associated deposits. Cytoplasmic Aβ₄₂ deposits in pericytes are demarcated by yellow lines. Scale bar: 0.5 μm. Reproduced from Shi et al. (2020) under terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).