Referenced in: none

Automatically associated channels: SK3

Title: In vivo P2X7 inhibition reduces amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's disease through GSK3β and secretases.

Authors: Juan Ignacio Díaz-Hernandez, Rosa Gómez-Villafuertes, Miriam León-Otegui, Lourdes Hontecillas-Prieto, Ana del Puerto, Jose Luis Trejo, José Javier Lucas, Juan José Garrido, Javier Gualix, Maria Teresa Miras-Portugal, Miguel Díaz-Hernández

Journal, date & volume: Neurobiol. Aging, 2012 Aug , 33, 1816-28

PubMed link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22048123

Abstract
β-Amyloid (Aβ) peptide production from amyloid precursor protein (APP) is essential in the formation of the β-amyloid plaques characteristic of Alzheimer's disease. However, the extracellular signals that maintain the balance between nonpathogenic and pathologic forms of APP processing, mediated by α-secretase and β-secretase respectively, remain poorly understood. In the present work, we describe regulation of the processing of APP via the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) receptor P2X7R. In 2 different cellular lines, the inhibition of either native or overexpressed P2X7R increased α-secretase activity through inhibition of glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3). In vivo inhibition of the P2X7R in J20 mice, transgenic for mutant human APP, induced a significant decrease in the number of hippocampal amyloid plaques. This reduction correlated with a decrease in glycogen synthase kinase 3 activity in J20 mice, increasing the proteolytic processing of APP through an increase in α-secretase activity. The in vivo findings presented here demonstrate for the first time the therapeutic potential of P2X7R antagonism in the treatment of familiar Alzheimer's disease (FAD).