RESUMO
Data are emerging to support the idea that mediators of angiogenesis are found in the Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain. The objective of this study is to compare the expression of the angiogenic mediators vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), angiopoietin, and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in the microcirculation of AD patients and age-matched controls. Our results indicate that angiopoietin-2 and VEGF are expressed by AD- but not control-derived microvessels. AD-derived microvessels also release higher levels of MMP-2 and MMP-9 compared to controls. The data show that despite high levels of MMP-9, assessed by western blot, MMP-9 activity is not detectable in AD microvessels. In this regard we find high levels of the tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases-1 (TIMP-1) in AD, but not control vessels. Furthermore, we explore the ability of thrombin, previously shown to be present in AD microvessels, to affect TIMP expression in cultured brain endothelial cells and find that thrombin causes up regulation of TIMP-1. These data show that angiogenic changes occur in the microcirculation of the AD brain and suggest that if these changes are contributory to disease pathogenesis, targeting the abnormal brain endothelial cell would provide a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of this disease.
Assuntos
Doença de Alzheimer/metabolismo , Proteínas Angiogênicas/metabolismo , Encéfalo/irrigação sanguínea , Encéfalo/metabolismo , Doença de Alzheimer/genética , Doença de Alzheimer/patologia , Proteínas Angiogênicas/genética , Animais , Western Blotting , Encéfalo/patologia , Circulação Cerebrovascular/fisiologia , DNA Complementar/genética , Humanos , Metaloproteinases da Matriz/genética , Metaloproteinases da Matriz/metabolismo , Microcirculação/fisiologia , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase , Ratos , Inibidores Teciduais de Metaloproteinases/genética , Inibidores Teciduais de Metaloproteinases/imunologia , Inibidores Teciduais de Metaloproteinases/metabolismo , Fator A de Crescimento do Endotélio Vascular/genética , Fator A de Crescimento do Endotélio Vascular/metabolismoRESUMO
The notion that microvascular abnormalities contribute to deleterious changes in the Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain is supported by work from our laboratory and others demonstrating biochemical and functional alterations of the microcirculation in AD. The objective of this study is to determine whether levels of neurotoxic (thrombin) and inflammatory (interleukin 8 (IL-8), integrins alphaVbeta3 and alphaVbeta5) proteins are altered in microvessels isolated from AD patients compared to levels in vessels obtained from non-demented age-matched controls. We also evaluate in AD and control microvessels expression of the transcription factor hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha(HIF1-alpha), which regulates pro-inflammatory gene expression, and the regulation of HIF1-alpha expression by thrombin in cultured brain endothelial cells. Our results indicate that in AD there are high levels of expression of the neurotoxic protease thrombin and the inflammation-associated proteins IL-8 and alphaVbeta3 and alphaVbeta5 integrins. HIF1-alpha is higher in AD microvessels compared to control and thrombin treatment of cultured brain endothelial cells results in increased expression of HIF1-alpha. These data suggest that in AD the cerebral microcirculation is a source of neurotoxic and inflammatory mediators and as such contributory to pathologic processes ongoing in the AD brain.
