1. Academic Validation
  2. Functional gamma-secretase inhibitors reduce beta-amyloid peptide levels in brain

Functional gamma-secretase inhibitors reduce beta-amyloid peptide levels in brain

  • J Neurochem. 2001 Jan;76(1):173-81. doi: 10.1046/j.1471-4159.2001.00012.x.
H F Dovey 1 V John J P Anderson L Z Chen P de Saint Andrieu L Y Fang S B Freedman B Folmer E Goldbach E J Holsztynska K L Hu K L Johnson-Wood S L Kennedy D Kholodenko J E Knops L H Latimer M Lee Z Liao I M Lieberburg R N Motter L C Mutter J Nietz K P Quinn K L Sacchi P A Seubert G M Shopp E D Thorsett J S Tung J Wu S Yang C T Yin D B Schenk P C May L D Altstiel M H Bender L N Boggs T C Britton J C Clemens D L Czilli D K Dieckman-McGinty J J Droste K S Fuson B D Gitter P A Hyslop E M Johnstone W Y Li S P Little T E Mabry F D Miller J E Audia
Affiliations

Affiliation

  • 1 Elan Pharmaceuticals, Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA.
Abstract

Converging lines of evidence implicate the beta-amyloid peptide (Ass) as causative in Alzheimer's disease. We describe a novel class of compounds that reduce A beta production by functionally inhibiting gamma-secretase, the activity responsible for the carboxy-terminal cleavage required for A beta production. These molecules are active in both 293 HEK cells and neuronal cultures, and exert their effect upon A beta production without affecting protein secretion, most notably in the secreted forms of the amyloid precursor protein (APP). Oral administration of one of these compounds, N-[N-(3,5-difluorophenacetyl)-L-alanyl]-S-phenylglycine t-butyl ester, to mice transgenic for human APP(V717F) reduces brain levels of Ass in a dose-dependent manner within 3 h. These studies represent the first demonstration of a reduction of brain A beta in vivo. Development of such novel functional gamma-secretase inhibitors will enable a clinical examination of the A beta hypothesis that Ass peptide drives the neuropathology observed in Alzheimer's disease.

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