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Molecular-imaging probe 2-(1-[6-[(2-fluoroethyl)(methyl) amino]-2-naphthyl]ethylidene) malononitrile labels prion

Mara Bresjanac1, Lojze M Smid, Tomaz D Vovko

  • 1Laboratory for Neuronal Plasticity and Regeneration, Institute of Pathophysiology, University of Ljubljana, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia. maja.bresjanac@mf.uni-lj.si

The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience
|September 5, 2003
PubMed

Insights

The fluorescent probe FDDNP effectively labels prion plaques in brain tissue from various human prion diseases. This technique shows promise for future in vivo diagnostics of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD).

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Biochemistry
  • Medical Imaging

Background:

  • Prion diseases, including Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), and variant CJD (vCJD), are fatal neurodegenerative disorders.
  • Accurate diagnosis, especially for vCJD, remains challenging, necessitating improved diagnostic tools.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the efficacy of the fluorescent molecular-imaging probe 2-(1-[6-[(2-fluoroethyl)(methyl)amino]-2-naphthyl]ethylidene)malononitrile (FDDNP) in labeling prion plaques.
  • To determine if FDDNP can selectively and reproducibly identify prion plaques in fixed, paraffin-embedded human cerebellar tissue.

Main Methods:

  • Evaluation of FDDNP's fluorescent properties and its application to cerebellar sections from patients with confirmed prion diseases.
  • Comparison of FDDNP labeling with histopathological findings of prion plaques, including kuru plaques and small cluster-plaques in vCJD.

Main Results:

  • FDDNP reliably and reproducibly labeled all observed prion plaques across different forms of human prion disease.
  • The probe successfully identified even small cluster-plaques characteristic of vCJD.

Conclusions:

  • FDDNP is a sensitive and specific fluorescent probe for detecting prion plaques in fixed brain tissue.
  • These findings suggest that FDDNP, or its radiofluorinated analog [18F]FDDNP, holds potential for in vivo diagnosis of vCJD and other prion diseases.

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