Major and Classification
Biochemistry
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Caleb E. Finch, Davis School of Gerontology
Department
Dornsife: Biochemistry
Research Gateway Project
“Effects of Age, Sex, and Genetics on Aβ Regulation in Transgenic Mice”
Project Abstract
Age, sex, and genetics contribute to the development and progression of Alzheimer disease (AD). Individuals older than 65, female, and APOE4 allele carriers show higher risks of developing AD. In humans, the APOE gene has three genetic variations (e2, e3, and e4), with APOE4 having higher Amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaque deposition, a characteristic of AD. To determine how age, sex, and genetics regulate the accumulation of Aβ, we analyzed EFAD mice, which exhibit deposition by age 2 months and bear the human APOE alleles. Brains of both male and female mice, at ages of 2, 4 and 6 months, of both genotype E3FAD (e3/e3) and E4FAD (e4/e4) were sagittal sectioned and stained for immunohistochemistry (anti-rabbit against AbAPP). Images of the hippocampus and the cortex were analyzed using NIH ImageJ software. To quantify and compare Abloads across age, sex, and genotype images were converted to 8-bit, thresholder to diminish background and highlight plaques. The “analyze particles” function was used to calculate the total plaque number and percentage are covered.