title: Proteolytic mechanisms in amyloid-beta metabolism: therapeutic implications for Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: The accumulation of the amyloid-beta peptide, the main constituent of the "amyloid plaque", is widely considered to be the key pathological event in Alzheimer's disease. Amyloid-beta is produced from the amyloid precursor protein through the action of the proteases beta-secretase and gamma-secretase. Alternative cleavage of amyloid precursor protein by the enzyme alpha-secretase precludes amyloid-beta production. In addition, several proteases are involved in the degradation of amyloid-beta. This review focuses on the proteolytic mechanisms of amyloid-beta metabolism. An increasingly detailed understanding of proteolysis in both amyloid-beta deposition and clearance has identified some of these proteases as potential therapeutic targets for Alzheimer's disease. A more complex knowledge of these proteases takes us one step closer to developing "disease-modifying" therapies, but these advances also emphasize that significant challenges must be overcome before clinically effective drugs to treat Alzheimer's disease become a reality.
authors.affiliation: Academic Unit of Molecular Vascular Medicine, Leeds Institute of Genetics, Health and Therapeutics, University of Leeds, Clarendon Way, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK.
authors.forename: Emma R L C
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Vardy
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Catto
authors.forename: Nigel M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Hooper
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism*; D053829:Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000378:metabolism*; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor / Q000378:metabolism; D016282:Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases; D010450:Endopeptidases / Q000378:metabolism; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008666:Metalloendopeptidases / Q000378:metabolism; D008954:Models, Biological; D015260:Neprilysin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D053829:Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases; D010450:Endopeptidases; D016282:Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases; C509280:BACE1 protein, human; D008666:Metalloendopeptidases; D015260:Neprilysin