Affiliations: [a] A.I. Virtanen Institute, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| [b] Department of Pathology, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland
| [c] Unit of Pathology, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
Correspondence:
[*]
Correspondence to: Rana Mabrouk, A.I. Virtanen Institute, University of Eastern Finland, 70210 Kuopio, Finland. E-mail: rana.mabrouk@uef.fi.
Note: [1] These authors contributed equally to this work.
Abstract: DAPI is conventionally used as a nuclear stain for cells in culture or tissue. Here we demonstrate that it binds specifically to the β-sheet core of amyloid-β plaques but not diffuse amyloid-β at the plaque periphery. The specific DAPI induced blue fluorescence is much stronger than amyloid plaque autofluorescence. DAPI staining of fibrillar amyloid deposit may yield a misleading impression of damaged or dying cells. On the other hand, it provides a handy and low-cost means of staining compact amyloid plaques together with cell nuclei in double or triple immunofluorescent studies.
