Secretases as therapeutic targets for Alzheimer's disease.
Accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) is widely accepted as the key instigator of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The proposed mechanism is that accumulation of Aβ results in inflammatory responses, oxidative damages, neurofibrillary tangles and, subsequently, neuronal/synaptic dysfunction and neuronal loss. Given the critical role of Aβ in the disease process, the proteases that produce this peptide are obvious targets. The goal would be to develop drugs that can inhibit the activity of these targets. Protease inhibitors have proved very effective for treating other disorders such as AIDS and hypertension. Mutations in APP (amyloid-β precursor protein), which flanks the Aβ sequence, cause early-onset familial AD, and evidence has pointed to the APP-to-Aβ conversion as a possible therapeutic target. Therapies aimed at modifying Aβ-related processes aim higher up the cascade and are therefore more likely to be able to alter the progression of the disease. However, it is not yet fully known whether the increases in Aβ levels are merely a result of earlier events that were already causing the disease.
School of Pharmacy, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 440-467, Republic of Korea.
Ha-Na
HN
Woo
Sang-Ha
SH
Baik
Jong-Sung
JS
Park
A-Ryeong
AR
Gwon
Sunghee
S
Yang
Young-Kwang
YK
Yun
Dong-Gyu
DG
Jo
D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000201:enzymology; D053829:Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D015195:Drug Design; D006801:Humans; D011480:Protease Inhibitors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D011480:Protease Inhibitors; D053829:Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases