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Quantitative Brain Positron Emission Tomography in Female 5XFAD Alzheimer Mice: Pathological Features and Sex-Specific Alterations
Bouter C, Irwin C, Franke TN, Beindorff N, Bouter Y.. Frontiers in medicine, 2021-11-26
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Successful back-translating clinical biomarkers and molecular imaging methods of Alzheimer's disease (AD), including positron emission tomography (PET), are very valuable for the evaluation of new therapeutic strategies and increase the quality of preclinical studies. 18 F-Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET and 18 F-Florbetaben-PET are clinically established biomarkers capturing two key pathological features of AD. However, the suitability of 18 F-FDG- and amyloid-PET in the widely used 5XFAD mouse model of AD is still unclear. Furthermore, only data on male 5XFAD mice have been published so far, whereas studies in female mice and possible sex differences in 18 F-FDG and 18 F-Florbetaben uptake are missing. The aim of this study was to evaluate the suitability of 18 F-FDG- and 18 F-Florbetaben-PET in 7-month-old female 5XFAD and to assess possible sex differences between male and female 5XFAD mice. We could demonstrate that female 5XFAD mice showed a significant reduction in brain glucose metabolism and increased cerebral amyloid deposition compared with wild type animals, in accordance with the pathology seen in AD patients. Furthermore, we showed for the first time that the hypometabolism in 5XFAD mice is gender-dependent and more pronounced in female mice. Therefore, these results support the feasibility of small animal PET imaging with 18 F-FDG- and 18 F-Florbetaben in 5XFAD mice in both, male and female animals. Moreover, our findings highlight the need to account for sex differences in studies working with 5XFAD mice.
Key findings
- We could demonstrate that female 5XFAD mice showed a significant reduction in brain glucose metabolism and increased cerebral amyloid deposition compared with wild type animals, in accordance with the pathology seen in AD patients.
- Therefore, these results support the feasibility of small animal PET imaging with 18 F-FDG- and 18 F-Florbetaben in 5XFAD mice in both, male and female animals.
- Moreover, our findings highlight the need to account for sex differences in studies working with 5XFAD mice.
Why it matters
In 7-month-old female 5XFAD mice, PET imaging showed reduced brain glucose metabolism and increased amyloid deposition compared with wild-type animals, with hypometabolism more pronounced in females. This is animal imaging research and does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention for Alzheimer's disease in people.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 39/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Frontiers in medicine) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | Frontiers in Medicine: journal h-index 149 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 3 / 5 | 2021 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Laboratory or animal study (title names “5xfad”) — scores zero |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 3 / 7 | Cited 24 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 3.4 citations a year over 7 year(s) since 2021 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 1.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 16 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Yvonne Bouter: h-index 21 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin: institution h-index 1,116 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 34901060) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 39 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
- DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2021.745064
- PubMed: 34901060
- Original source →
- Free full text: Frontiers in Medicine →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Bouter, C., Irwin, C., Franke, T. N., Beindorff, N., & Bouter, Y. (2021). Quantitative Brain Positron Emission Tomography in Female 5XFAD Alzheimer Mice: Pathological Features and Sex-Specific Alterations. Frontiers in medicine. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2021.745064
Vancouver
Bouter C, Irwin C, Franke TN, Beindorff N, Bouter Y. Quantitative Brain Positron Emission Tomography in Female 5XFAD Alzheimer Mice: Pathological Features and Sex-Specific Alterations. Frontiers in medicine. 2021. doi:10.3389/fmed.2021.745064. PMID: 34901060.
BibTeX
@article{bouter2021-34901060,
author = {Bouter, C. and Irwin, C. and Franke, T. N. and Beindorff, N. and Bouter, Y.},
title = {{Quantitative Brain Positron Emission Tomography in Female 5XFAD Alzheimer Mice: Pathological Features and Sex-Specific Alterations}},
journal = {Frontiers in medicine},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.3389/fmed.2021.745064},
pmid = {34901060},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2021.745064}
}
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