title: Differential spatio-temporal regulation of MMPs in the 5xFAD mouse model of Alzheimer's disease: evidence for a pro-amyloidogenic role of MT1-MMP.
abstract: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are pleiotropic endopeptidases involved in a variety of neurodegenerative/neuroinflammatory processes through their interactions with a large number of substrates. Among those, the amyloid precursor protein (APP) and the beta amyloid peptide (Aβ) are largely associated with the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the regulation and potential contribution of MMPs to AD remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the evolution of the expression of MMP-2, MMP-9, and membrane-type 1-MMP (MT1-MMP) in the hippocampus at different stages of the pathology (asymptomatic, prodromal-like and symptomatic) in the 5xFAD transgenic mouse AD model. In parallel we also followed the expression of functionally associated factors. Overall, the expression of MMP-2, MMP-9, and MT1-MMP was upregulated concomitantly with the tissue inhibitor of MMPs-1 (TIMP-1) and several markers of inflammatory/glial response. The three MMPs exhibited age- and cell-dependent upregulation of their expression, with MMP-2 and MMP-9 being primarily located to astrocytes, and MT1-MMP to neurons. MMP-9 and MT1-MMP were also prominently present in amyloid plaques. The levels of active MT1-MMP were highly upregulated in membrane-enriched fractions of hippocampus at 6 months of age (symptomatic phase), when the levels of APP, its metabolites APP C-terminal fragments (CTFs), and Aβ trimers were the highest. Overexpression of MT1-MMP in HEK cells carrying the human APP Swedish mutation (HEKswe) strongly increased β-secretase derived C-terminal APP fragment (C99) and Aβ levels, whereas MMP-2 overexpression nearly abolished Aβ production without affecting C99. Our data consolidate the emerging idea of a regulatory interplay between MMPs and the APP/Aβ system, and demonstrate for the first time the pro-amyloidogenic features of MT1-MMP. Further investigation will be justified to evaluate this MMP as a novel potential therapeutic target in AD.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, NICN, UMR7259 Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Nathalie A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Py
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, NICN, UMR7259 Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Amandine E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Bonnet
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, NICN, UMR7259 Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bernard
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, NICN, UMR7259 Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Yannick
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Marchalant
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, NICN, UMR7259 Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Eliane
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Charrat
authors.affiliation: IPMC UMR 7275 CNRS-UNS, Labex DistAlz Valbonne, France.
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Checler
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, NICN, UMR7259 Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Khrestchatisky
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, NICN, UMR7259 Marseille, France ; Department of Neurology and Neuropsychology, APHM, CHU La Timone Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Kévin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Baranger
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, NICN, UMR7259 Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Santiago
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rivera
keywords: ADAM; MMP-2; MMP-9; TIMP; amyloid; cytokines; metalloproteinases; neuroinflammation