Deposition of BACE-1 Protein in the Brains of APP/PS1 Double Transgenic Mice

Biomed Res Int. 2016:2016:8380618. doi: 10.1155/2016/8380618. Epub 2016 May 18.

Abstract

The main causes of Alzheimer's disease remain elusive. Previous data have implicated the BACE-1 protein as a central player in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. However, many inhibitors of BACE-1 have failed during preclinical and clinical trials for AD treatment. Therefore, uncovering the exact role of BACE-1 in AD may have significant impact on the future development of therapeutic agents. Three- and six-month-old female APP/PS1 double transgenic mice were used to study abnormal accumulation of BACE-1 protein in brains of mice here. Immunofluorescence, immunohistochemistry, and western blot were performed to measure the distributing pattern and expression level of BACE-1. We found obvious BACE-1 protein accumulation in 3-month-old APP/PS1 mice, which had increased by the time of 6 months. Coimmunostaining results showed BACE-1 surrounded amyloid plaques in brain sections. The abnormal protein expression might not be attributable to the upregulation of BACE-1 protein, as no significant difference of protein expression was observed between wild-type and APP/PS1 mice. With antibodies against BACE-1 and CD31, we found a high immunoreactive density of BACE-1 protein on the outer layer of brain blood vessels. The aberrant distribution of BACE-1 in APP/PS1 mice suggests BACE-1 may be involved in the microvascular abnormality of AD.

MeSH terms

  • Alzheimer Disease / etiology
  • Alzheimer Disease / metabolism
  • Alzheimer Disease / pathology
  • Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases / metabolism*
  • Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor / genetics*
  • Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor / metabolism
  • Animals
  • Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases / metabolism*
  • Brain / blood supply
  • Brain / metabolism*
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Mice
  • Mice, Mutant Strains
  • Mice, Transgenic
  • Microvessels / metabolism
  • Microvessels / pathology
  • Mutant Proteins / genetics
  • Mutant Proteins / metabolism
  • Plaque, Amyloid / metabolism
  • Plaque, Amyloid / pathology
  • Platelet Endothelial Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 / metabolism
  • Presenilin-1 / genetics*
  • Presenilin-1 / metabolism
  • Recombinant Proteins / genetics
  • Recombinant Proteins / metabolism

Substances

  • APP protein, human
  • Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor
  • Mutant Proteins
  • PSEN1 protein, human
  • Platelet Endothelial Cell Adhesion Molecule-1
  • Presenilin-1
  • Recombinant Proteins
  • Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases
  • Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases
  • Bace1 protein, mouse