O-linked ß-N-acetylglucosaminidase inhibitor attenuates ß-amyloid plaque and rescues memory impairment.

Deposition of ß-amyloid (Aß) as senile plaques and disrupted glucose metabolism are two main characteristics of Alzheimer's disease (AD). It is unknown, however, how these two processes are related in AD. Here we examined the relationship between O-GlcNAcylation, which is a glucose level-dependent post-translational modification that adds O-linked ß-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) to proteins, and Aß production in a mouse model of AD carrying 5XFAD genes. We found that 1,2-dideoxy-2'-propyl-α-d-glucopyranoso-[2,1-D]-Δ2'-thiazoline (NButGT), a specific inhibitor of O-GlcNAcase, reduces Aß production by lowering γ-secretase activity both in vitro and in vivo. We also found that O-GlcNAcylation takes place at the S708 residue of nicastrin, which is a component of γ-secretase. Moreover, NButGT attenuated the accumulation of Aß, neuroinflammation, and memory impairment in the 5XFAD mice. This is the first study to show the relationship between Aß generation and O-GlcNAcylation in vivo. These results suggest that O-GlcNAcylation may be a suitable therapeutic target for the treatment of AD.

The failure of mitochondria leads to neurodegeneration: Do mitochondria need a jump start?

Mitochondria are the power engine generating biochemical energy in the cell. Mitochondrial dysfunction and bioenergy deficiency is closely linked to the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders. Mitochondria play a variety of roles by integrating extracellular signals and executing important intracellular events in neuronal survival and death. In this context, the regulation of mitochondrial function via therapeutic approaches may exert some salutary and neuroprotective mechanisms. Understanding the relationship of mitochondria-dependent pathogenesis may provide important pharmacological utility in the treatment of neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntington's disease and Parkinson's disease. Indeed, the modulation of mitochondrial pathways is rapidly emerging as a novel therapeutic target. This review focuses on how mitochondria are involved in neurodegeneration and what therapeutics are available to target mitochondrial pathways.

Rac1 changes the substrate specificity of gamma-secretase between amyloid precursor protein and Notch1.

Beta amyloid peptide is generated from amyloid precursor protein (APP) by proteolytic cleavage of beta- and gamma-secretases, and plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. Since gamma-secretase cleaves several proteins including APP and Notch in a number of cell types, it is important to understand the conditions determining gamma-secretase substrate specificity. In the present study, inhibition of Rac1 attenuated gamma-secretase activity for APP, resulting in decreased production of the APP intracellular domain but accumulated C-terminal fragments (APP-CTF). In contrast, Rac1 inhibitor, NSC23766 increased production of the Notch1 intracellular domain but slightly decreased the ectodomain-shed form of Notch1 (NotchDeltaE). To elucidate the mechanism underlying these observations, we performed co-immunoprecipitation experiments to analyze the interaction between Rac1 and presenilin1 (PS1), a component of the gamma-secretase complex. Inhibition of Rac1 enhanced its interaction with PS1. Under the same condition, PS1 interacted more strongly with NotchDeltaE than with APP-CTF. Our results suggested that PS1 determines the preferred substrate for gamma-secretase between APP and Notch1, depending on the activation status of Rac1.

Effect of ischemic neuronal insults on amyloid precursor protein processing.

The nature of the association between ischemic stroke and Alzheimer's disease (AD) at the cellular and molecular level is still unknown. We evaluated the effect of ischemic neuronal insults on the regulation of amyloid precursor protein (APP) processing. We used an in vitro model of cerebral ischemia (oxygen-glucose deprivation) to evaluate the effect of ischemic neuronal insults on the amyloidogenic and non-amyloidogenic pathways using human neuroblastoma cell line and primary cultured cells of transgenic mice which expressed human APP (Tg2576). Ischemic neuronal insults increased the production of Abeta in Tg2576 primary culture cells compared to controls. A disintegrin and metalloprotease 10 (ADAM 10) was markedly increased in early stage of ischemic insults, which was followed by decreased level of ADAM 10 expression in later stage. The protein and mRNA expression of beta-site cleavage enzyme (BACE) and BACE activity was not significantly different between the group of ischemic insults and control. By contrast, the activity of gamma-secretase was significantly increased after 4 h of ischemic insults, as compared to controls. The present study showed that the ischemic neuronal insults increased the production of Abeta by influencing APP metabolism, which may link the role of ischemic insults to the pathogenesis of AD.

Profiling proteins related to amyloid deposited brain of Tg2576 mice.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an age-related neurodegenerative disorder that is characterized by the extracellular deposition of beta-amyloid and intracellular hyperphosphorylation of tau in the cortex and hippocampus of the brain. These characterizations are caused by abnormal expression, modification and deposition of certain proteins. Post-translational modifications of proteins including oxidation and nitration might be involved in the pathogenesis of AD. In this study, AD-related proteins were identified in the cortex of Tg2576 mice used as a model for studying AD. Tg2576 mice express high levels of the Swedish mutated form of human beta-amyloid precursor protein (APP) and generated high levels of beta-amyloid in the brains. Using Western blotting and two-dimensional electrophoresis, proteins with differences in expression, oxidation and nitration in the cortex of Tg2576 mice brains were compared to littermate mice brains used as a control. The proteins with different expression levels were identified using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analyses. As a result, 12 proteins were identified among 37 different proteins using the PDQuest program. Furthermore, two proteins, laminin receptor and alpha-enolase, were more susceptible to oxidative modification in the brains of Tg2576 mice compared to those of littermates. Similarly, alpha-enolase, calpain 12, and Atp5b were more modified by nitration in brains of Tg2576 mice than those of littermates. Taken together, these proteins and their modifications may play an important role in the plaque deposition of Tg2576 mice brains.

Amyloid beta peptide directly inhibits PKC activation.

A putative protein kinase C (PKC) pseudosubstrate domain in beta amyloid (Abeta) suggests a potential interaction between Abeta and PKC. In this study, we investigated whether and how Abeta interacts with PKC. Abeta peptides inhibited PKC phosphorylation in a dose-dependent manner in cell-free in vitro condition, suggesting a direct interaction between Abeta and PKC. Experiments involving deletion of the Abeta sequence indicated that the putative PKC pseudosubstrate domain (Abeta 28-30) is critical for Abeta-PKC interaction. Addition of Abeta peptides to cultured B103 cells reduced the activated forms of PKCalpha and PKCepsilon. It also inhibited phorbol-12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu)-induced membrane translocation of PKCalpha and PKCepsilon without altering their expression levels, indicating that activation of intracellular PKC is inhibited by treatment of Abeta peptides. These results suggest that Abeta peptides inhibit PKC activation via direct interactions, which may play a role in pathogenesis of AD.

Neuroprotective effect of genistein against beta amyloid-induced neurotoxicity.

Estrogen is beneficial to patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) but has a limited clinical use due to its proliferative and oncogenic effects on non-neuronal cells responsive to estrogen. In an attempt to find an estrogen substitute that retains the beneficial effects of estrogen with minimal side effects, we compared the neuroprotective and proliferative effects of genistein, a selective estrogen receptor (ER) beta-agonist, with those of estrogen. Genistein and 17beta-estradiol showed comparable levels of protection against Abeta-induced deaths of cultured SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells, which were blocked by an estrogen receptor antagonist, ICI 182,780. On the other hand, 17beta-estradiol, but not genistein, induced proliferation of uterine endometrial cells. Our results suggest that genistein is a potential alternative to estrogen in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Lovastatin enhances Abeta production and senile plaque deposition in female Tg2576 mice.

A recent clinical study showed that statins, which are inhibitors of cholesterol biosynthesis pathway, reduced the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Animal studies that have employed high cholesterol diet indicate significant relationship between cholesterol level and senile plaque deposition. Here, we investigated the effects of lovastatin on beta-amyloid production and senile plaque deposition in an animal model of AD (Tg2576 mice). As expected, lovastatin treatment reduced plasma cholesterol level in both male and female mice. However, lovastatin enhanced the amounts of beta-amyloid and other beta-secretase derived peptides in females, but not in males. Likewise, lovastatin increased the number of plaques in the hippocampus and cortex of females, but not in males. Lovastatin did not change the amounts of full-length or alpha-secretase processed amyloid precursor protein (APP), or presenilin 1 (PS1) in either sex. Thus, lovastatin lowers cholesterol level in both genders, but enhances beta-amyloid production and senile plaque deposition only in brains of female Tg2576 mice. Our results suggest that low plasma cholesterol levels might be a risk factor for AD in females.