title: Inhibition of gamma-secretase activity reduces Abeta production, reduces oxidative stress, increases mitochondrial activity and leads to reduced vulnerability to apoptosis: Implications for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: It has been argued that gamma-secretase should be considered as a pharmacological target, as there are few mechanism-based experimental and clinical studies on gamma-secretase treatment. In this study, we found that N2a cells bearing APP695 or its Swedish mutant exhibited increased basal levels of ROS, nitric oxide (NO), protein carbonyls, MDA and intracellular calcium, as well as reduced level of the mitochondrial membrane potential and ATP. When the activity of gamma-secretase was inhibited by expression of the D385A PS1 variant, cells (N2a/Swe.D385A) showed reduced basal levels of ROS, nitric oxide (NO), protein carbonyls, MDA and intracellular calcium, as well as increased mitochondrial membrane potential and ATP level. In addition, N2a/Swe.D385A cells showed reduced vulnerability to H(2)O(2)-induced apoptosis. The Bcl-2 and JNK/ERK pathways were proven to be involved in the change of vulnerability to H(2)O(2)-induced apoptosis. Moreover, we discovered that inhibition of gamma-secretase by DAPT would lead to a reduction of ROS levels and stabilization of mitochondrial function in APP (N2a/APP695) and APP Swedish mutant (N2a/APPswe) transfected cells. At last, it was shown that Abeta antibody and antiserum prevented increase of ROS and reduction of mitochondrial membrane potential in N2a/Swe.DeltaE9 cells but not in N2a/Swe.D385A cells, which indicated that reduced formation of Abeta was the reason for reduction of ROS formation and increase of mitochondrial membrane potential when PS-1 activity was impaired in N2a/Swe.D385A cells. We concluded that neurotoxicity was positively correlated with the activity of gamma-secretase, which suggested inhibition of gamma-secretase is a rational pharmacological target for Alzheimer's disease treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Baiyang
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sheng
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.forename: Lingling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yufang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Guangyuan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Lihai
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Nanming
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Xiufang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Peifu
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Yandao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gong
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000503:physiopathology; D053829:Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D006801:Humans; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000378:metabolism; D048670:MAP Kinase Kinase 4; D008564:Membrane Potentials; D051379:Mice; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000502:physiology*; D009097:Multienzyme Complexes / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009154:Mutation; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000502:physiology; D050050:Protein Carbonylation; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D015398:Signal Transduction; D019076:Transgenes
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor; D009097:Multienzyme Complexes; D009842:Oligopeptides; C449186:PS1 antigen; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; D048670:MAP Kinase Kinase 4; D053829:Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases; D002118:Calcium