Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether intracellular amyloid β (iAβ) induces toxicity in wild type (WT) and APP/PS1 mice, a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. METHODS: Different forms of Aβ aggregates were microinjected into cultured WT or APP/PS1 mouse hippocampal neurons. TUNEL staining was performed to examine neuronal cell death. Reactive oxidative species (ROS) were measured by MitoSOXRed mitochondrial superoxide indicator. RESULTS: Crude, monomer and protofibril Aβ induced more toxicity in APP/PS1 neurons than in WT neurons. ROS are involved in mediating the vulnerability of APP/PS1 neurons to iAβ toxicity. CONCLUSION: Oxidative stress may mediate cell death induced by iAβ in neurons.