Quantitative study of the capillaries within the white matter of the Tg2576 mouse model of Alzheimer's disease

INTRODUCTION: To quantitatively investigate the capillaries within the white matter of Tg2576 Alzheimer's disease (AD) transgenic mice during the early stage. METHODS: In the current study, 10‐month‐old male Tg2576 AD mice were used as the early‐stage AD group and age‐matched nontransgenic littermate mice were used as the wild‐type group. Then, the Morris water maze was used to examine the spatial learning and memory abilities of the mice in both groups, and unbiased stereological methods were used to accurately quantify the volume of white matter and the parameters of the capillaries within the white matter, such as the total length, total volume, and total surface area of capillaries. RESULTS: The Morris water maze performance of the Tg2576 group was worse than that of the wild‐type group, while the white matter volume did not significantly differ between the wild‐type group and the Tg2576 group. The total length, total volume, and total surface area of the capillaries within the white matter of the Tg2576 group were significantly decreased compared to those of the wild‐type group. CONCLUSIONS: The current study provide structural basis for understanding the pathological changes of the early stage of AD and cognitive decline in AD might be associated with changes in the white matter capillaries. Capillaries within the white matter might, thus, serve as a valid target for the prevention and treatment of early‐stage AD.