title: Inhibition of BACE, a promising approach to Alzheimer's disease therapy.
abstract: The first proteolytic step in the processing of amyloid precursor protein (APP) to amyloid-beta (Abeta) in the brain is performed by beta-site APP cleaving enzyme (BACE1). This enzyme is a membrane bound aspartic protease with high homology of the catalytic domain to renin and pepsin and of yet unknown physiologic function. It is a primary drug discovery target for Alzheimer s disease therapy. The first potent inhibitors are based on the sequence of APP around the beta-secretase cleavage site EVNL/DAEF, with the scissile Leu-Asp amide bond being replaced by a hydroxyethylene transition state analogue isostere. In addition, lipophilic sidechains have been incorporated and a crystal structure of such an octapeptidic inhibitor bound in the active site is already available. Recent progress in the field of BACE inhibition is reviewed.
authors.affiliation: Therapeutic Area Nervous System, Pharma Research, Novartis Pharma AG, WSJ-507.605A, Lichtstrasse 35, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland. silvio.roggo@pharma.novartis.com
authors.forename: Silvio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Roggo
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000201:enzymology; D053829:Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D016282:Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000378:metabolism; D010450:Endopeptidases; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017510:Protein Folding; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D053829:Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases; D010450:Endopeptidases; D016282:Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases; C509280:BACE1 protein, human