Chronic Treatment with the γ-Secretase Inhibitor LY-411,575 Inhibits β-Amyloid Peptide Production and Alters Lymphopoiesis and Intestinal Cell Differentiation
Inhibition of γ-secretase, one of the enzymes responsible for the cleavage of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) to produce the pathogenic β-amyloid (Aβ) peptides, is an attractive approach to the treatment of Alzheimer disease. In addition to APP, however, several other γ-secretase substrates have...
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Published in | The Journal of biological chemistry Vol. 279; no. 13; pp. 12876 - 12882 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
United States
Elsevier Inc
26.03.2004
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Inhibition of γ-secretase, one of the enzymes responsible for the cleavage of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) to produce the pathogenic β-amyloid (Aβ) peptides, is an attractive approach to the treatment of Alzheimer disease. In addition to APP, however, several other γ-secretase substrates have been identified (e.g. Notch), and altered processing of these substrates by γ-secretase inhibitors could lead to unintended biological consequences. To study the in vivo consequences of γ-secretase inhibition, the γ-secretase inhibitor LY-411,575 was administered to C57BL/6 and TgCRND8 APP transgenic mice for 15 days. Although most tissues were unaffected, doses of LY-411,575 that inhibited Aβ production had marked effects on lymphocyte development and on the intestine. LY-411,575 decreased overall thymic cellularity and impaired intrathymic differentiation at the CD4-CD8-CD44+CD25+ precursor stage. No effects on peripheral T cell populations were noted following LY-411,575 treatment, but evidence for the altered maturation of peripheral B cells was observed. In the intestine, LY-411,575 treatment increased goblet cell number and drastically altered tissue morphology. These effects of LY-411,575 were not seen in mice that were administered LY-D, a diastereoisomer of LY-411,575, which is a very weak γ-secretase inhibitor. These studies show that inhibition of γ-secretase has the expected benefit of reducing Aβ in a murine model of Alzheimer disease but has potentially undesirable biological effects as well, most likely because of the inhibition of Notch processing. |
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ISSN: | 0021-9258 1083-351X |
DOI: | 10.1074/jbc.M311652200 |