IR and Raman imaging of murine brains from control and ApoE/LDLR-/- mice with advanced atherosclerosis

Confocal Raman mapping and FT-IR imaging combined with chemometric analysis was used to study the alterations in murine brain tissue induced by the development of atherosclerosis. FT-IR imaging allowed us to obtain lower spatial resolution data (similar to 5.5 mu m) from large, representative cross-sectional brain areas, while Raman mapping provided a more detailed insight into chosen regions of interest with high spatial resolution (similar to 0.4 mu m). A comparison of white (WM) and grey matter (GM) from control (C57BL/6J) and ApoE/LDLR-/- mice with advanced atherosclerosis revealed disease-induced changes in both: GM and WM. The alterations included an increased lipid to protein ratio and higher total content of cholesterol.