Fig. 1

Effect of TTR reduction in vascular features in mice brain microvessels. A1 Representative images and quantification plots of collagen IV (red) levels in the BM of cortex and hippocampus vessels derived from 7-month-old AD mice with different TTR genetic backgrounds, AD/TTR/+/+ (n = 7) and AD/TTR+/− (n = 6 for cortex; n = 5 for hippocampus), showing significantly increased levels in microvessels from AD/TTR+/− compared to AD/TTR+/+ mice. Scale bar = 5 μm. A2 Representative images and quantification plots of the length of brain vessels, as evaluated by collagen IV staining, from 7-month-old AD mice with different TTR genetic backgrounds, AD/TTR/+/+ (n = 7) and AD/TTR+/− (n = 7), showing significantly decreased vessel length in the hippocampus of AD/TTR+/− compared to AD TTR+/+. Scale bar = 50 μm. B Representative images of the cortex and hippocampus and quantification plots of collagen IV immunostaining in microvessels of NT/TTR+/+ and NT/TTR+/− 3-month-old mice, showing an increase in collagen IV content in NT/TTR+/− mice (n = 4) relative to NT/TTR+/+ littermates (n = 4). Scale bar = 5 μm. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001