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 (∼5.5 μm) from large, representative cross-sectional brain areas, while Raman mapping provided a more detailed insight into chosen regions of interest with high spatial resolution (∼0.4 μm). 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.