Abstract #4238

Detection of Protein Accumulation by Amide Proton Transfer (APT) in the Spinal Cord of SOD1 Mice Using Exchange-Modulated PRESS

Marilena Rega¹, Francisco Torrealdea¹, Phillip Smethurst¹, James Dick¹, Anna Gray¹, Linda Greensmith¹, Katie Sidle¹, Simon Walker-Samuel², David L. Thomas¹, Xavier Golay³

¹Institute of Neurology, UCL, London, Greater London, United Kingdom; ²Centre for Advance Biomedical Imaging, UCL, London, Greater London, United Kingdom; ³Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, Greater London, United Kingdom

Amide proton transfer (APT) is able to produce contrast originating from endogenous cellular proteins and peptides. In this study we explore the possibility of using APT as a biomarker of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) through a SOD1 mutate mouse model that closely resembles the disease. Comparisons of the APT signal between healthy and SOD1 animals at the same age, as well as validation of the results with protein assays (ex-vivo) show a significant difference between the two groups at a pre-symptomatic stage of the disease. These results suggest that APT could potentially become an early biomarker for ALS.