Unspecific binding of cRNA probe to plaques in two mouse models for Alzheimer’s disease

Background Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by the pathological deposition of amyloid-β (Aβ) protein-containing plaques. Microglia and astrocytes are commonly attracted to the plaques by an unknown mechanism that may involve cell adhesion. One cell adhesion family of proteins, the cadherins, are widely expressed in the central nervous system. Therefore, our study was designed to map the expression of cadherins in AD mouse brains. A particular focus was on plaques because diverse mRNA-species were found in plaques and their surrounding area in brains of AD patients.